The Case for a new Canadian Identity
A Nation with an inordinate past
From the 16th century when the various French & British colonies regiments that came to establish a new home, to the Confederation of Canada in 1867, there were many flags that have represented our nation.
British to the core
The deep historical ties of Canada’s national colours, white and red, can be traced back to French and English
cultures. Mainly the latter though. These colours were officially brought together on the General Service Medal issued by Queen Victoria in 1899 to honour the brave Imperial and Canadian servicemen who played a vital role in suppressing the Fenian Raids and Red River Rebellion.
In 1921, King George V declared them the official national colors of Canada as part of the country’s coat of arms, which also featured the red and green Maple leaves proposed as a national symbol as early as 1834.
The maple leaf later became an emblem of Canadian soldiers during both World Wars. Canada’s official flag since 1867 had been Britain’s Union Flag, also known as the Union Jack. Prior to 1965, the Red Ensign served
as Canada’s unofficial but widely used flag.
The Pearson Pennant
But, it wasn’t until 1960, when Lester B. Pearson declared his determination to solve “The Flag Problem.” He was obsessed with the idea of visually defining Canada as a unified, independent country. He was elected as Prime Minister in 1963 and promised to resolve the issue of a new national flag by 1967 when Canada would celebrate it’s centennial.
One of his main goals was to eliminate divisive symbols, like the Red Ensign, which ignited separatist sentiments in Quebec and posed a risk to Canadian unity. What followed was an intial design proposed by Pearson featuring a sprig with 3 red maple leaves, similar to that seen on the National coat of Arms Sided by blue strips that represented the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. His design was refined by heraldic expert Alan Beddoe and become known as the “Pearson Pennant”. Parliament members strongly oppossed the design and a parliamentary committee was established with a tight 6-week deadline to solve the flag issue.
The Great Flag Debate
Following an extensive and contentious debate, the matter was referred to a 15-member all-party committee on September 15th, 1964, chaired by Herman Batten, a Liberal MP from Humber St. Georges, Newfoundland. The group, which included members from the Liberal, Conservative, NDP, Social Credit, and Ralliement des Créditistes parties, was tasked with selecting a final design from around 5,000 entries within six weeks.
The persuasive leadership of John Matheson, M.P., one of the flag committee’s pre-eminent members, is often credited with achieving consensus within the committee and helping to end the Great Flag Debate in Parliament. The persuasive leadership of John Matheson, M.P., one of the flag committee’s pre-eminent members, is often credited with achieving consensus within the committee and helping to end the Great Flag Debate in Parliament. During the flag debate Pierre Trudeau noted:
“Quebec does not give a tinkers dam about the new flag, it’s a matter of complete indifference.”
A New National Identity
At the conclusion of the six-week period, Matheson brought forward a proposal to the committee which had been originally submitted by historian George Stanley in March of 1964. The design consisted of a red maple leaf against a white background, flanked by two vertical red bars, and was inspired by the flag of the Royal Military College (also known as the Stanley Flag). Jacques Saint-Cyr, a graphic artist for the Canadian Government Exhibition Commity, created a refined version of Stanley’s initial sketch featuring an 11 point maple leaf and a shade of scarlet that was darker than the red in Britain’s Union Jack but lighter than that used in the American flag. Our Canadian Flag as we known it was born.
The opposition by Diefenbaker and the Conservatives continued for six more weeks when the committee’s choice was presented to the House of Commons. The debate became so heated that it was called “The Great Flag Farce.” Finally, after 250 speeches, a vote was taken on 15 December 1964 at 2:15 a.m., and the Stanley Flag was accepted by a vote of 163 to 78. The Senate approved it on 17 December. The Flag was made official by Queen Elizabeth II on January 28, 1965, and inaugurated in a public ceremony on Parliament Hill on February 15th of that year. Followed by the centennial showcase at Expo ‘67.
A Nation at odds
Our flag is simple, timeless and powerful. Since its’ unveiling, It has proudly represented generation after generation of Canadians throughout the years, at home and abroad. But, just as millions of Canadians gaze upon our national flag with pride, there’s also millions of Canadians who don’t feel any pride, or association whatsoever to the Red Maple Leaf Flag. In fact, quite the opposite.
But, since the confederation, our Nation has matured quite a bit. Efforts to redress the past & right wrongs have been initiated, such as the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Acknowledgements & apolgies are becoming more common. But there remains one thing that needs to be addressed to reflect our current maturity as a Nation and genuine desire to truly unite as a country where everyone feels equally represented. Our flag needs to represent us all and we need to all feel that it is our flag.
The Sign of a Growing Nation
From a design point of view, what’s not to love about the red Maple Leaf flag? It’s simple, iconic and powerful. Any new proposal would have to be equally iconic and recognizable. No easy feat. As a starting point, we began chronlogically. Looking first towards the peoples that inhabited this land before it was called Canada. All of the Indigenous peoples. Then the rest of the people in Canada were noted, all in all, we’re looking at 5 main groups of people:
Visual Representation
If we were to visually represent each of the those groups, from the original inhabitants to the newcomers, with graphical symbols we would reach something like this:
The Quest for Visual Harmony
What followed was a lot of examination, contemplation and experimentation, a lot.
But, eventually we landed on a clear direction that felt right ... The New Canadian Eagle. In creating a new flag for our nation, It was important to create a flag where all of Canada’s main ethnic groups felt visibly represented. Comprised of all of the above symbols, the New Canadian Eagle is a fresh take on our current Maple Leaf flag.
In designing the symbol, a decision was made to angle the new “Eagle” to signify dynamic growth and to eliminate any overt sense of hierarchy, as all cultures and ethnic backgrounds represented are equal.
The Inuit & First Nations are the body of the new symbol since they are the first inhabitants of the land, flanked by both the Maple Leaf & Fleur-de-lys. In addition to the visible symbolic inclusivity seen in the flag, a concious
decision was made to embrace Spring Green as a new national colour. Besides symbolism, colour is extremely important not only politically, but emotionally.
A fresh future colour that’s based on New Beginnings
Red is the colour of the current flag, it’s also the colour of the Liberal party. Blue is the colour preferred by the Québécois and Conservatives. Already those are two very politically loaded colours. It felt right to come up with an alternative. Also, we were to examine the choice of current Maple Leaf colour, we’d find that Red signifies the end of the leaf lifecycle, as it lay on the ground in droves during the fall before being consumed by the earth. In a sense, it’s a colour that signfies “an end.” Which is how we came to embrace this fresh & vibrant shade of green as a colour that we can all unite under. A colour that has no strong, loaded political associations. A colour that signifies growth and new hope.
A colour that represents a new sense of unity and maturity as a nation. A colour that represents a vital and urgent commitment to safe gaurding nature and our climate. A colour that signifies new beginnings, not endings.
True Change requires Bold moves & Genuine Visible
Representation.
To sum things up, we believe that we have tremendous potential as a nation amongst the nations of the world. A potential that can only truly be realized if we were to equally embrace our backgrounds, cultures, ethnicities
and identities and see the collective strength we have together, not apart. How much richer we can become as a peoples, as a nation if we genuinely make visible efforts to embrace and include all in a new vision for what Canada is destined to be for centuries to come.