Editing Union Jack (section)

==Status outside the United Kingdom==
===Australia===
[[File:SLNSW 6429 First Australianborn Governor General Sir Isaac Isaccs takes the salute from the steps of the then new Parliament House his AidedeCamp Captain Bracegirdle on left the press photographer is Alec Bell.jpg|thumb|The [[Flag of Australia|Australian ensign]] and Union Jack hung vertically from Australia's [[Old Parliament House, Canberra|Parliament House]], 1931]]
The Union Flag was used formally as the Australian national flag until 1953, having official precedence over the [[Flag of Australia|Australian Blue Ensign]], though the latter was used by government and informally.{{sfn|Kwan|2006|p=10}} Schools were encouraged to fly the Union Jack to encourage patriotism for the British Empire, with South Australia requiring students from 1911 to 1956 to fly the Union Jack for the "national salute".{{sfn|Kwan|2006|p=8}}

Over time, the blue ensign came to be used and embraced as the national flag, officially being designated as the ''Australian National Flag'' in 1953 with the passage of the ''[[Flags Act 1953|Flags Act]].{{sfn|Kwan|2006|p=8}}'' Due to the sensitivity of those who still considered the Union Jack the national flag, the act specified that it did "not affect the right or privilege of a person to fly the Union Jack".{{sfn|Kwan|2006|p=106}} Additionally, Australian prime minister [[Robert Menzies]] told Australians that the Union Flag would be flown together with the Australian national flag "on notable occasions".{{sfn|Kwan|2006|p=8}} The Union Jack continued to see informal use as a flag of Australia for a period thereafter, although by the 1980s, the majority of Australians viewed the Australian blue ensign as the national flag as opposed to the Union Jack.{{sfn|Kwan|2006|p=6}}

===Canada===
{{further|List of Canadian flags}}
[[File:North-West Mounted Police standing next to American and British flags marking the boundary between Alaska and British Columbia (HEGG 446).jpeg|thumb|The Union Flag and the [[flag of the United States|U.S. flag]] at the [[Canada–United States border|Canada-U.S. border]], 1899. The Union Flag was the formal flag of Canada until 1965.]]
The Union Jack was the official national [[flag of Canada]] until 1965 when it was replaced in that role by the Maple Leaf flag.<ref name=pch>{{cite web|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/flag-canada-history.html|title=History of the National Flag of Canada|publisher=Department of Canadian Heritage|access-date=27 November 2019|date=4 February 2019|website=canada.ca|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190912202105/https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/flag-canada-history.html|archive-date=12 September 2019}}</ref><ref name=can3>{{cite web|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/flag-canada-etiquette/foreign-flags.html#a1|title=The Royal Union Flag|publisher=Government of Canada|work=www.canada.ca|access-date=5 March 2020|date=8 May 2018}}</ref> Since 1965, the Union Jack in Canada is used as an authorised symbol to represent Canada's "membership in the [[Commonwealth of Nations]] and its allegiance to [[the Crown]]".<ref name=ruf2>{{cite web|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/services/defence/caf/military-identity-system/heritage-manual/chapter-4/section-8.html|title=Section 8: Other Flags|publisher=Department of National Defence|access-date=27 November 2019|date=4 February 2019|website=canada.ca|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200122141521/https://www.canada.ca/en/services/defence/caf/military-identity-system/heritage-manual/chapter-4/section-8.html|archive-date=22 January 2020}}</ref>

====History====
The Union Jack has been used in a variety of colonies in [[British North America]] since its official adoption in 1707, In 1867, the British North American colonies of [[New Brunswick]], [[Nova Scotia]], and the [[Province of Canada]] were united to form the [[Canadian Confederation]]; with the Union Jack being retained as the official flag of the new "confederation".<ref name=pch/>

In addition to the Union Jack, during the late 19th century, a red ensign defaced with the [[arms of Canada]] was also used as an informal flag of Canada. The defaced red ensign, later known as the [[Canadian Red Ensign]], was eventually authorised for official use as the country's civil ensign in 1892. Although the Canadian Red Ensign was only formally authorised as a civil ensign, it was also viewed as a ''de facto'' national flag, as it was a uniquely Canadian symbol.<ref name=pch/>
[[File:VE Day celebrations on Bay Street 1945.jpg|thumb|left|[[VE Day]] celebrations in [[Toronto]] in 1945, with several buildings flying the Union Jack and several people waving the flag.]]
In 1964, Canadian Prime Minister [[Lester B. Pearson]] introduced plans to replace the Union Flag with a new national flag, spurring the [[Great Canadian flag debate]].<ref name=pch/> A new national flag, the ''Maple Leaf'', was approved by the [[parliament of Canada]] on 17 December 1964.<ref name=pch/> However, on the following day, the Canadian parliament passed another resolution that designated the Union Flag as the ''Royal Union Flag'' and authorised its official use as the symbol of the country's membership in the Commonwealth of Nations and its allegiance to the Crown.<ref name=ruf2/> On 15 February 1965, the maple leaf flag formally replaced the Union Flag as the flag of Canada following an official proclamation by [[Elizabeth II]],<ref name=pch/> with the Royal Union Flag becoming an official ceremonial flag.<ref name=ruf2/>

The Union Flag was also legislated as the national flag for the [[Dominion of Newfoundland]] in 1931, a separate [[dominion]] of the British Empire. [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]] retained the Union Flag as a provincial flag after it joined the Canadian confederation in 1949, reaffirmed through the 1952 Revised Statutes of Newfoundland. In 1980, the [[Flag of Newfoundland and Labrador|flag of Newfoundland]] was adopted as the new provincial flag, with the design for the new flag of Newfoundland being derived from the Union Flag.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/society/post-confederation-flags.php|website=www.heritage.nf.ca|publisher=Heritage Newfoundland and Labrador|title=Post-Confederation Flags|access-date=17 November 2024|year=2024}}</ref>

====Protocol====
[[File:Ottawa on Commonwealth Day (March 14) 2022.jpg|thumb|upright|left|The Royal Union Flag flown in [[Ottawa]] during [[Commonwealth Day]], 2022]]
The parliamentary resolution passed on 18 December 1964 assigned two purposes for the Royal Union Flag: a flag representing the United Kingdom and an official ceremonial flag of Canada.<ref name=can3/> When used to represent the United Kingdom, the flag takes precedence before the flag of a Canadian province or territory. However, when the flag is used as a ceremonial flag of Canada, the flag of a Canadian province or territory takes precedence before the Royal Union Flag.<ref name=can3/>

The parliamentary resolution requires the Royal Union Flag to be flown alongside the national flag of Canada (if there are at least two flag poles available) on federal properties on [[Commonwealth Day]], [[Victoria Day]] (the [[King's Official Birthday#Canada|monarch's official birthday]] in Canada), 11 December (the anniversary of the enactment of the [[Statute of Westminster 1931|Statute of Westminster, 1931]]), and when otherwise instructed to do so by the [[National Defence Headquarters]].<ref name=ruf2/><ref name=can3/> The Royal Union Flag may also be formally flown alongside the flag of Canada at federal locations in Canada for ceremonies, anniversaries, and other events relating to the [[Canadian Armed Forces]] or other forces in the Commonwealth.<ref name=ruf2/><ref name=can3/>
[[File:Hartland covered bridge 2008.jpg|thumb|The Royal Union Flag atop the [[Hartland Covered Bridge]]. It is positioned right of the national and provincial flags, per protocol.]]
Items and properties that the parliamentary resolution applies to includes buildings operated by the federal government, military installations, federally-operated airports, at the masthead of [[Royal Canadian Navy]] ships within Canadian waters, and other appropriate establishments. The requirement for federal properties to fly the Royal Union Flag applies only when there are two or more flagpoles on the property, to ensure that the national flag of Canada is not taken down in place of the Royal Union Flag.<ref name=ruf2/><ref name=can3/><ref>{{cite web|author=Evan Dyer |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/we-stand-on-guard-for-whom-union-jack-at-crossing-sends-mixed-message-1.2648862 |title=We Stand on Guard for Whom? Union Jack at crossing sends mixed message – Ottawa – CBC News |website=Cbc.ca |access-date=3 December 2015}}</ref>

===New Zealand===
[[File:1888-1889 Natives Tour.jpg|thumb|The [[1888–89 New Zealand Native football team]] pose in front of the [[flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand]] and the Union Jack, 1889]]
The Union Flag became the flag of New Zealand after the [[Treaty of Waitangi]] was signed in February 1840, replacing the flag used by the [[United Tribes of New Zealand]].<ref name=nzflag>{{cite web|url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/flags-of-new-zealand/union-jack|title=Flags of New Zealand Page 3 – Union Jack|website=nzhistory.govt.nz|publisher=New Zealand Government|date=11 May 2015|access-date=7 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200122030429/https://nzhistory.govt.nz/politics/flags-of-new-zealand/union-jack|archive-date=22 January 2020}}</ref> The issue of flying the flag of the United Tribes alongside the Union Jack, as a symbol of their equal standing with the colonial government, was a factor that led to the [[Flagstaff War]], led by [[Ngāpuhi]] chief [[Hōne Heke]].<ref name=nzflag/> British maritime flags were used by New Zealand vessels until 1865.<ref name=nzflag/> After the passage of the [[Colonial Naval Defence Act 1865]], vessels of the New Zealand government used a defaced [[blue ensign]] issued by the colonial government.

The [[flag of New Zealand|current national flag of New Zealand]] was given official standing under the New Zealand Ensign Act in 1902, replacing the Union Flag.<ref name=nzflag/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.scoutingtorlesse.org/Scouts/Resources/The_New_Zealand_Flag.pdf |title=The New Zealand Flag |website=Scouting New Zealand |access-date=9 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728005107/http://www.scoutingtorlesse.org/Scouts/Resources/The_New_Zealand_Flag.pdf |archive-date=28 July 2011 }}</ref> However, the Union Flag continued to see tandem use with the national flag of New Zealand into the 1950s.<ref name=nzflag/>

===South Africa===
The Union Jack was used as the flag of a variety of colonies in South Africa since 1795. The Union Jack was retained as the official flag of the [[Union of South Africa]] after its formation in 1910. In addition to the Union Jack, from 1910 to 1928, the [[South African Red Ensign]] was also treated as an unofficial flag of the union.

Proposals to adopt a national flag were made during the 1920s. In 1927, the Union Nationality and Flag Act was passed by the [[Parliament of South Africa]], which named both the Union Jack and the {{lang|af|[[Flag of South Africa (1928–1994)|Oranje, Blanje, Blou]]}} flag of South Africa as the flags of the union, both co-equal in status. The {{lang|af|Oranje, Blanje, Blou}} flag also incorporated the Union Jack in its design, alongside the [[flag of the Orange Free State]] and the [[flag of the South African Republic]]. The Union Jack was to be flown alongside the {{lang|af|Oranje, Blanje, Blou}} at principal government buildings in the capitals, at Union ports, on government offices abroad, and at such other places as the government might determine.<ref name=unfa>Union Nationality and Flags Act 1927 (renamed 'Flags Act 1927' in 1949).</ref><ref name=sava>Radburn, A.  'South Africa's Dual Flag Arrangement, 1928–1957' in 
[http://www.savaflags.org.za ''SAVA Newsletter''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180426120727/http://www.savaflags.org.za/ |date=26 April 2018 }} SN 74/16 (April 2016).</ref> The act went into effect on 31 May 1928.

Instructions issued in 1931 confirmed the places where both flags were to be flown.  In addition to those already mentioned, they were the [[Union Buildings]] in Pretoria, the head offices of the four provincial administrations, the [[Supreme Court of South Africa|supreme courts]], certain [[Magistrate's court (South Africa)|magistrates' courts]], customs houses, and three buildings in [[Durban]] (the general post office, the [[Durban railway station|railway station]], and the local [[Natal Command|military district headquarters]]).<ref name=iff31>''Government Gazette'' 1953 (29 May 1931) : Government Notice 376.</ref><ref name=sava /> Under these arrangements, the Union Jack was subordinate to the {{lang|af|Oranje, Blanje, Blou}}.  As the two flags had to be the same size, it meant that the Union Jack was made in the ratio 2:3 rather than the usual 1:2.<ref name=iff31 /><ref name=sava />

This dual arrangement continued until 1957, when the Flags Amendment Act was passed naming the {{lang|af|Oranje, Blanje, Blou}} as the sole flag of South Africa.<ref name=faa>Flags Amendment Act 1957</ref> The {{lang|af|Oranje, Blanje, Blou}} was replaced by the [[flag of South Africa]] in 1994 as the country's national flag.

===Use outside the Commonwealth===
Several individuals residing in countries not a part of the [[Commonwealth of Nations]] have adopted the Union Flag as a flag of protest.

====Hong Kong====
The Union Flag was formerly used in Hong Kong when it was a [[British Overseas Territory|British Dependent Territory]]. Official use of the Union Flag and the [[Flag of Hong Kong (1959–1997)|British colonial Hong Kong flag]] ceased following the [[handover of Hong Kong]] to China in July 1997. In the 2010s, the Union Flag, along with the colonial flag of Hong Kong began to see use by supporters of the [[pro-democracy camp (Hong Kong)|pro-democracy camp]] during the [[2014 Hong Kong protests]], and the [[2019–20 Hong Kong protests]].<ref name=reuters>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hongkong-extradition-wong/flag-waving-grandma-wong-gives-hong-kong-protesters-lesson-in-endurance-idUSKCN1TY124|title=Flag-waving Grandma Wong gives Hong Kong protesters lesson in endurance|last=Roantree|first=Anne Marie|date=3 July 2019|access-date=26 June 2020|work=Reuters|publisher=Thomson Reuters}}</ref><ref>{{Citation | last1 = Parry | first1 = Richard Lloyd | last2 = Blet | first2 = Raphael | title = Colonial nostalgia rules in Hong Kong as young refuse to accept China's authority | date = 14 June 2019 | url = https://www.thetimes.com/world/asia/article/colonial-nostalgia-rules-as-young-refuse-to-accept-beijing-rule-gswccq0vf | work = [[The Times]] | access-date = 5 July 2019 }}</ref> The flag has been displayed at other pro-democracy events in Hong Kong, including the [[Hong Kong new year marches|new year marches]] and the [[Hong Kong 1 July marches|1 July marches]]. Members of the [[Hong Kong Autonomy Movement]], the [[Hong Kong independence]] movement and [[Localism in Hong Kong|Hong Kong localists]] have been seen wielding the Union Flag or the colonial flag of Hong Kong.<ref name=hkfp/>
[[File:2014 Hong Kong new year march 11.jpg|thumb|left|The Union Jack alongside the [[Flag of Hong Kong (1959–1997)|colonial Hong Kong flag]], during the 2014 [[Hong Kong new year marches|new year march]] in Hong Kong]]
However, the meaning behind the use of the flags by pro-democracy protestors, including the Union Flag, remains disputed with protestors citing a variety of reasons for flying it.<ref name=scmp>{{cite web|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3023817/are-hong-kong-protesters-pro-american-or-british-when-they|title=Are Hong Kong protesters pro-American or British when they wave the US and UK flags? The answer is complicated|last=Sum|first=Lok-kei|work=South China Morning Post|publisher=SCMP Publishers|date=22 August 2019|access-date=26 June 2020}}</ref> Some pro-democracy protestors that flew foreign flags, including the Union Flag, did so in an effort to attract international media attention to the protests, while others did so in an effort to irritate the central government of China.<ref name=scmp/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/06/26/asia/hong-kong-protest-xi-jinping/index.html|title=Hong Kong handover: The protest symbols China's scared of|work=CNN|publisher=WarnerMedia|last=Griffiths|first=James|date=26 June 2016|access-date=25 June 2020}}</ref>  The Union Flag, in addition to other foreign flags, were also used by some protestors to illustrate their desire for Hong Kong to be an "international city"; whereas others used the flag simply as a generic symbol of freedom.<ref name=scmp/><ref>{{Citation | first = Paris | last = Gourtsoyannis | title = Union flags in Hong Kong are a symbol of failed China policy | date = 13 June 2019 | publisher = The Scotsman | url = https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/columnists/union-flags-in-hong-kong-are-a-symbol-of-failed-china-policy-paris-gourtsoyannis-1-4947118 | access-date = 5 July 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{Citation | last = Hannan | first = Daniel | title = Hong Kongers know the values behind the Union flag – but do the British? | date = 15 June 2019 | newspaper = The Telegraph | url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/06/15/hong-kongers-know-values-behind-union-flag-do-british/ | access-date = 5 July 2019 }}</ref>

Some specifically flew the Union Flag and the colonial flag of Hong Kong, nostalgic of the "values" of the previous colonial government, namely "personal freedoms, rule of law, [and] clean governance".<ref name=reuters/><ref name=hkfp>{{cite web|url=https://hongkongfp.com/2019/07/13/explainer-conflicting-messages-behind-protesters-use-colonial-hong-kong-flag/|title=Explainer: The conflicting messages behind protesters' use of the colonial Hong Kong flag|last=Chan|first=Holmes|date=13 July 2019|access-date=26 June 2020|publisher=Hong Kong Free Press|website=hongkongfp.com}}</ref> Other pro-democracy protestors choose to use the Union Flag and the colonial flag of Hong Kong in an effort to call upon the British government to declare that China had failed to uphold the [[Sino-British Joint Declaration]].<ref name=scmp/>  Several Hongkongers that hold [[British National (Overseas)]] passports who used the flag during the protests were doing so as a call to the British government to grant British National (Overseas) the right to abode in the United Kingdom.<ref name=scmp/> Although a small number of Hongkongers seek direct British intervention into the matter, the majority of those that used the Union Flag or the colonial flag of Hong Kong during the protests do not hold such beliefs.<ref name=hkfp/>

The use of foreign flags at the protests, including the Union Flag, has been cited multiple times by the central government of China as evidence for their claim that foreign interference is steering the protests in Hong Kong against the central government.<ref name=scmp/> Conversely, several protestors in the pro-democracy camp have also criticised the use of foreign flags, who view their use as reinforcing the claims made by the central government of China.<ref name=scmp/>

====Italy====
After the [[2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum|British referendum]] on membership of the [[European Union]] resulted in a vote to [[Brexit|leave]], the Union Flag became a symbol of [[euroscepticism]] in Italy. In August 2016, many local businesses along the [[Italian Riviera|Italian riviera]] hoisted the flags as a protest against the implementation of the [[Services in the Internal Market Directive 2006]].<ref name="Ghiglione2">{{cite news |last=Ghiglione |first=Davide |date=5 August 2015 |title=Italian beach operators hoist British flag in protest at EU law |url=https://www.ft.com/content/8ae4e4e8-5ae9-11e6-9f70-badea1b336d4 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/8ae4e4e8-5ae9-11e6-9f70-badea1b336d4 |archive-date=10 December 2022 |access-date=9 February 2017 |newspaper=Financial Times}}</ref>