The Great Canadian flag debate (or Great Flag Debate) was a national debate that took place in 1963 and 1964 when a new design for the national flag of Canada was chosen.[1]
Although the flag debate had been going on for a long time prior, it officially began on June 15, 1964, when Prime MinisterLester B. Pearson proposed his plans for a new flag in the House of Commons. The debate lasted more than six months, bitterly dividing[2] the people in the process. The debate over the proposed new Canadian flag was ended by closure on December 15, 1964. It resulted in the adoption of the "Maple Leaf" as the Canadian national flag, which remains the official national flag of Canada.
The flag was inaugurated on February 15, 1965, a date that has been commemorated as National Flag of Canada Day since 1996.
The Union Jack served as the formal flag for various colonies in British North America, and remained as the formal national flag of Canada from Confederation to 1965. However, from the late-19th century to 1965, the civil ensign for Canada, the Canadian Red Ensign, was also used as an unofficial national flag and symbol for Canada.[3]
... the Dominion Government has encouraged by precept and example the use on all public buildings throughout the provinces of the Red Ensign with the Canadian badge on the fly... [which] has come to be considered as the recognized flag of the Dominion, both ashore and afloat.
Under pressure from pro-imperial public opinion, Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier raised the Union Jack over Parliament, where it remained until the re-emergence of the Red Ensign in the 1920s.
William Lyon Mackenzie King tried to adopt a new Canadian national flag in 1925 and 1946,[3] having received a recommendation that came back as a Red Ensign design that replaced the coat of arms of Canada with a gold maple leaf in 1946. However, ongoing fears that the change might lead to political instability resulted in Mackenzie King shelving the project. A compromise was reached where the Canadian government would fly the Canadian Red Ensign as a "distinctive Canadian flag" on government buildings, but maintain the Union Jack as the national flag.[3]
In 1958, an extensive poll was taken of the attitudes that adult Canadians held toward the flag. Of those who expressed opinions, over 80 per cent wanted a national flag entirely different from that of any other nation, and 60 per cent wanted their flag to bear the maple leaf. [4] In April 1963, an opinion poll of 2,262 Canadians found that 52% supported a new national flag for Canada of its own, while 30% preferred using the Union Jack and 18% preferred using the Canadian Red Ensign.[5]
Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson in 1963. Pearson made the adoption of a new national flag a party platform during the 1963 federal elections.
From his office as leader of the opposition, Lester Pearson issued a press release on January 27, 1960, in which he summarized the problem and presented his suggestion as:
... Canadian Government taking full responsibility as soon as possible for finding a solution to the flag problem, by submitting to Parliament a measure which, if accepted by the representatives of the people in Parliament, would, I hope, settle the problem.
The Progressive Conservative government of the time, headed by Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, did not accept the invitation to establish a new Canadian flag, so Pearson made it Liberal Party policy in 1961, and part of the party's election platform in the 1962 and 1963 federal elections. During the election campaign of 1963, Pearson promised that Canada would have a new flag within two years of his election. No previous party leader had ever gone as far as Pearson did, by putting a time limit on finding a new national flag for Canada. The 1963 election brought the Liberals back to power, but with a minority government. In February 1964, a three-leaf design was leaked to the press.
At the 20th Royal Canadian Legion Convention in Winnipeg on May 17, 1964, Pearson faced an unsympathetic audience of Canadian Legionnaires and told them that the time had come to replace the Canadian Red Ensign with a distinctive maple leaf flag.[6] The Royal Canadian Legion and the Canadian Corps Association wanted to make sure that the new flag would include the Union Jack as a sign of Canadian ties to the United Kingdom and to other Commonwealth countries, such as Australia and New Zealand, that use the Union Jack in the quarter of their national flag.
Lester Pearson's preferred choice for a new flag was nicknamed "the Pearson Pennant". Pearson's first design featured the three maple leaves on a white background, with vertical blue bars to either side. Pearson preferred this choice, as the blue bars reflected Canada's motto, "From Sea to Sea".
Parliamentary debate begins
Opening resolution
Pearson's preferred choice for a new flag was nicknamed "the Pearson Pennant".
On June 15, 1964, Pearson opened the parliamentary flag debate with a resolution:
… to establish officially as the flag of Canada a flag embodying the emblem proclaimed by His Majesty King George V on November 21, 1921 — three maple leaves conjoined on one stem — in the colours red and white then designated for Canada, the red leaves occupying a field of white between vertical sections of blue on the edges of the flag.
The flag proposed by Pearson, referred to as "the Pearson Pennant", was designed by Alan Beddoe.[3] Pearson sought to produce a flag which embodied history and tradition, but he also wanted to excise the Union Jack as a reminder of Canada's heritage and links to the United Kingdom. Hence, the issue was not whether the maple leaf was pre-eminently Canadian, but rather whether the nation should exclude the British-related component from its identity.
Diefenbaker opposition
Diefenbaker led the opposition to the Maple Leaf flag, arguing for the retention of the Canadian Red Ensign. Diefenbaker and his lieutenants mounted a filibuster. The seemingly endless debate raged on in Parliament and the press with no side giving quarter. Pearson forced members of Parliament to stay over the summer, but that did not help.
On September 10, 1964, the Prime Minister yielded to the suggestion that the matter be referred to a special flag committee. The key member of the 15-person panel, Liberal Member of Parliament John Matheson, said that they "were asked to produce a flag for Canada and in six weeks!"[6]
The Conservatives at first saw this event as a victory, for they knew that all previous flag committees had suffered miscarriages. During the next six weeks the committee held 35 lengthy meetings. Thousands of suggestions also poured in from a public engaged in what had become a great Canadian debate about identity and how best to represent it.
3,541 entries were submitted: many contained common elements:
George Stanley seated next to his spouse, Ruth Stanley. George's design was eventually selected by the special flag committee.
At the last minute, John Matheson slipped a flag designed by historian George Stanley into the mix. The idea came to him while standing in front of the Mackenzie Building of the Royal Military College of Canada, while viewing the college flag flying in the wind. Stanley submitted a March 23, 1964 formal detailed memorandum[9] to Matheson on the history of Canada's emblems, predating Pearson's raising the issue, in which he warned that any new flag "must avoid the use of national or racial symbols that are of a divisive nature" and that it would be "clearly inadvisable" to create a flag that carried either a Union Jack or a Fleur-de-lis. The design put forward had a single red maple leaf on a white plain background, flanked by two red borders, based on the design of the flag of the Royal Military College. The voting was held on October 22, 1964, when the committee's final contest pitted Pearson's pennant against Stanley's. Assuming that the Liberals would vote for the Prime Minister's design, the Conservatives backed Stanley. They were outmaneuvered by the Liberals who had agreed with others to choose the Stanley Maple Leaf flag. The Liberals voted for the red and white flag, making the selection unanimous (15–0).[10]
Parliamentary vote
While the committee had made its decision, the House of Commons had not. Diefenbaker would not budge, so the debate continued for six weeks as the Conservatives launched a filibuster. The debate had become so ugly that the Toronto Star called it "The Great Flag Farce."[6]
The debate was prolonged until one of Diefenbaker's own senior members, Léon Balcer, and the Créditiste, Réal Caouette, advised the government to cut off debate by applying closure. Pearson did so, and after some 250 speeches, the final vote adopting the Stanley flag took place at 2:15 on the morning of December 15, 1964, with Balcer and the other francophone Conservatives swinging behind the Liberals. The committee's recommendation was accepted 163 to 78. At 2:00 AM, immediately after the successful vote, Matheson wrote to Stanley: "Your proposed flag has just now been approved by the Commons 163 to 78. Congratulations. I believe it is an excellent flag that will serve Canada well."[11] Diefenbaker, however, called it "a flag by closure, imposed by closure."[12]
On the afternoon of December 15, the Commons also voted in favour of continued use of the Union Flag as an official flag to symbolize Canada's allegiance to the Crown and its membership in the Commonwealth of Nations.[13] Senate approval followed on December 17, 1964. The Union Jack, or the "Royal Union Flag", as it would be officially termed in the parliamentary resolution, would be put alongside the new flag at federal government buildings, federally-operated airports, military installations, at the masthead of Royal Canadian Navy ships within Canadian waters, and at other appropriate establishments on Commonwealth Day, Victoria Day (the monarch's official birthday in Canada), 11 December (the anniversary of the enactment of the Statute of Westminster 1931), and when otherwise instructed to do so by the National Defence Headquarters.[13]
Aftermath
The royal proclamation naming the Maple Leaf the country's new national flag.
Queen Elizabeth II approved the Maple Leaf flag by signing a royal proclamation on January 28, 1965, when both Prime Minister Pearson and Leader of the Opposition Diefenbaker were in London attending the funeral of Sir Winston Churchill.
The flag was inaugurated on February 15, 1965, at an official ceremony held on Parliament Hill in Ottawa in the presence of Governor General Major-General Georges Vanier, the prime minister, the members of the Cabinet, and Canadian parliamentarians. Also throughout Canada, at the United Nations in New York City, and at Canadian legations and on Canadian ships throughout the world, the Canadian Red Ensign was lowered and the Maple Leaf flag was raised. As journalist George Bain wrote of the occasion, the flag "looked bold and clean, and distinctively our own."[14]
Attachment to the old Canadian Red Ensign has persisted among many people, especially veterans.
After the debate, Manitoba and Ontario adopted versions of the Red Ensign as basis for their provincial flags.
The Canadian Red Ensign itself can sometimes be seen today in Canada, often in connection to veterans' associations.[15] In addition, the provinces of Manitoba and Ontario adopted their own versions of the Red Ensign as their respective provincial flags in the wake of the national flag debate.
On the other hand, Newfoundland used the Union Jack as its provincial flag from 1952 until 1980; the blue triangles on the new flag adopted in 1980 are meant as a tribute to the Union Jack.[16]British Columbia's flag, which features the Union Jack in its top portion, was introduced in 1960 and is actually based on the shield of the provincial coat of arms, which dates back to 1906.[17] Hence, both Newfoundland's use of the Union Jack and the adoption of British Columbia's flag are unrelated to (and, in fact, pre-date) the great flag debate.
Albinski, Henry S. (August 1967). "Politics and Biculturalism in Canada: The Flag Debate*". Australian Journal of Politics & History. 13 (2): 169–188. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8497.1967.tb00800.x.
Band, C.P. & Stovel, E.L. (1925) Our Flag: A Concise Illustrated History. Toronto, ON: Musson Book Co.
Canada House of Commons. (1964) December 14, 1964 Session. Debates. 11075–11086.
Pearson's speech of June 15, 1964 can be found in its entirety in the Canada: House of Commons Debates, IV (1964), pp.4306–4309, 4319–4326
Champion, C. P. (2006). "A Very British Coup: Canadianism, Quebec, and Ethnicity in the Flag Debate, 1964-1965". Journal of Canadian Studies. 40 (3): 68–99. doi:10.3138/jcs.40.3.68. ISSN0021-9495. S2CID142885623.
Champion, C. P. (2010). The Strange Demise of British Canada The Liberals and Canadian Nationalism, 1964-68. McGill-Queen's University Press. ISBN978-0-7735-9105-9.
John George Diefenbaker was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 and 1979 to lead the party to an election victory, doing so three times, although only once with a majority of the seats in the House of Commons.
The Union Jack, or Union flag, is the de facto national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Flag was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. The flag continues to have official status in Canada, by parliamentary resolution, where it is known as the Royal Union flag.
The National Flag of Canada, often simply referred to as the Canadian flag or, unofficially, as the maple leaf flag or l'Unifolié, consists of a red field with a white square at its centre in the ratio of 1∶2∶1, in which is featured a stylized, red, 11-pointed maple leaf charged in the centre. It is the first flag to have been adopted by both houses of Parliament and officially proclaimed by the Canadian monarch as the country's official national flag. The flag has become the predominant and most recognizable national symbol of Canada.
The flag of Newfoundland and Labrador was introduced in 1980 and was designed by Newfoundland artist Christopher Pratt. The flag design was approved by the House of Assembly of the province of Newfoundland, Canada, on May 28, 1980. It was flown for the first time on Discovery Day, June 24, 1980. The name of the province was changed to Newfoundland and Labrador by an amendment to the constitution of Canada in December 2001 at the request of the provincial legislature.
Events from the year 1963 in Canada.
Events from the year 1964 in Canada.
The flag of Ontario is the provincial flag of Ontario, Canada. It is a defaced Red Ensign, with the Royal Union Flag in the canton and the Ontario shield of arms in the fly. The flag of Ontario was derived from the Canadian Red Ensign, which was used as a civil ensign and as a de facto flag of Canada from the late 19th century to 1965. It was adopted in a period when many Canadian provinces adopted their own flags. May 21 is Ontario Flag Day.
The Blue Ensign is a flag, one of several British ensigns, used by certain organisations or territories associated or formerly associated with the United Kingdom. It is used either plain or defaced with a badge or other emblem.
The flag of Manitoba consists of a Red Ensign defaced with the shield of the provincial coat of arms. Adopted in 1965 shortly after the new national flag was inaugurated, it has been the flag of the province since May 12 of the following year. Its adoption was intended to maintain the legacy of the Canadian Red Ensign as the country's unofficial flag, after the adoption of the Maple Leaf Flag in 1965. Manitoba's flag has been frequently mistaken for the flag of the neighbouring province of Ontario, which is also a Red Ensign with its respective coat of arms. This, along with criticisms of a lack of inclusivity of the flag, has led some Manitobans to call for a new and more distinct flag.
Colonel George Francis Gillman Stanley was a Canadian historian, author, soldier, teacher, public servant, and designer of the Canadian Flag.
Leonard Patrick "Red" Kelly was a Canadian professional hockey player and coach. He was also a Liberal Member of Parliament for the Toronto-area riding of York West from 1962 to 1965, during which time he also won the Stanley Cup—twice—while actively playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Kelly played on more Stanley Cup-winning teams (eight) than any other player who never played for the Montreal Canadiens; Henri Richard (11), Jean Beliveau (10), Yvan Cournoyer (10) and Claude Provost (9) won their Cups with the Canadiens. He was also one of the only two players to have never played for the Canadiens and to be part of two of the nine dynasties recognized by the National Hockey League (NHL) in its history. In 2017, Kelly was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.
The Canadian Red Ensign served as a nautical flag and civil ensign for Canada from 1892 to 1965, and later as the de facto flag of Canada before 1965. The flag is a British Red Ensign, with the Royal Union Flag in the canton, adorned with the shield of the coat of arms of Canada.
Paul Raymond Martineau PC QC KCSG was a Canadian politician, lawyer, crown attorney, and judge.
National Flag of Canada Day, commonly shortened to Flag Day, is observed annually on February 15 to commemorate the inauguration of the flag of Canada on that date in 1965. The day is marked by flying the flag, occasional public ceremonies and educational programs in schools. It is not a public holiday, although there has been discussion about creating one.
Léon Balcer, was a Canadian politician.
Over the course of centuries, a multitude of national symbols and material items have arisen as uniquely Canadian or possessing uniquely Canadian characteristics. These symbols and items represent the culture of Canada—protectionism of that culture, identity, values, nationalism, and the heritage of its inhabitants.
The history of Canada (1960–1981) refers to the period immediately following the prosperous 1950s until the new constitution of 1982, the Canada Act.
Canadianism or Canadian patriotism refers to a patriotism involving cultural attachment of Canadians to Canada as their homeland. It has been identified as related, though in some cases distinct, to Canadian nationalism. In contemporary times, this patriotism has commonly emphasized Canada as a multicultural cosmopolitan society.
Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson was a Canadian politician, diplomat, statesman, and scholar who served as the 14th prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968.
Joan O'Malley is a retired Canadian public servant who, on November 6, 1964, sewed the first Canadian flag. She is sometimes referred to as Canada's Betsy Ross.
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