Remembering the origins of the Canadian flag

There’s a lot going on in the world these days, most of it unsettling. And there’s so much that it tends to be distracting. As a result, when the anniversary of our flag rolls around on Feb. 15, chances are we won’t be giving it the awareness it is due because of all the competition for our attention.

As Canadians, one of the things we have to remember is that if we don’t take care of our national heritage, nobody else will. That’s our job as thinking, proud Canadians. Our heritage is a reflection of everything we are and everything we believe in, and our flag is now recognized around the world as a magnificent and welcome symbol of democracy.

So, in the middle of the pandemic and a lot of political unrest, let’s all take a moment to remember just how truly important our flag is. Over the decades since its arrival, our national emblem has become one of the most respected symbols of freedom in the world, with thousands of people choosing to leave their birthplace to lead a better life in Canada.

I was lucky enough to be on duty on Parliament Hill on the cold February morning the flag was inaugurated in 1965. We were there because the prime minister of the day, Lester Pearson, had decided Canada needed its own new flag, instead of the Canadian Red Ensign or Union Jack. At the time, Canadian troops were denied entry into Egypt because then-president Gamal Abdel Nasser said their flag contained the Union Jack of Great Britain, his arch enemy in the Suez Canal conflict of 1956.

Although Pearson’s innovative diplomatic solution of introducing peacekeepers to settle an international dispute won him the Nobel Peace Prize, it left him determined to give Canada its own flag. It would not come easily, however, as the debate tore the country apart. The new flag and its design became the focal point of intense, emotional disagreements, each side fully confident its perspective was the only one acceptable.

In living rooms, legion branches, classrooms and taverns across the country, it was the topic of the day, with son against father, and mother against daughter. When Pearson introduced the flag at the Royal Canadian Legion Convention in Winnipeg in May 1964, veterans booed the prime minister vehemently. As far as they were concerned, they had lost too many of their friends and comrades-in-arms fighting under the Red Ensign in both world wars. To them it was sacred.

One of those veterans was the country’s distinguished military hero Georges Vanier, the only Canadian veteran ever to rise to commander-in-chief. He too had fought under the red ensign, even losing a leg in France during the First World War.

But in 1959, Vanier had been named Canada’s governor general and when the Queen authorized the new flag, as recommended by Parliament, irony of ironies, he would end up having to preside at its inauguration.

I remember how deeply struck I was when that beautiful, new symbol slowly unfurled, giving our country a powerful, fresh identity. Now hardly a day goes by when I don’t see that flag flying proudly and am reminded of what it means to be a Canadian, and how widely respected our flag is around the world.

In a word, we are blessed and, in caring for our national heritage, we should cherish the privilege by remembering our flag every year on its Feb. 15 anniversary, from coast to coast to blessed coast.

Loading…

Loading…Loading…Loading…Loading…Loading…

Bruce Stock is a retired major who formerly served as an aide-de-camp to former governor general Georges Vanier and Madame Pauline Vanier. A member of the Royal Canadian Legion Vimy Branch, he resides in London.