Editing Flag of Canada (section)

==History==

===Early flags===
{{see also|Historical flags of the British Empire and the overseas territories|Canadian Red Ensign|Union Jack}}
[[File:Jacques Cartier rencontre les indiens de Stadacone, 1535.jpg|thumb|Depiction of [[Jacques Cartier]] meeting with [[Iroquoian peoples|Iroquoians]] at [[Stadacona]]. Another member of Cartier's party is holding the [[Flag of France|royal banner of France]].]]

The [[Flag of England|Saint George's Cross]] was carried by [[John Cabot]] when he reached the later-named [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]] in 1497. In 1534, [[Jacques Cartier]] planted a cross in [[Gaspé Peninsula|Gaspé]] bearing the French royal coat of arms with the [[fleurs-de-lis]]. The [[Flag of France|Royal Banner of France]] or  "Bourbon Flag" held a position of some prominence in [[Canada (New France)|New France]], with the evolving variations of [[List of French flags#Historical flags|French military flags]] being used over time.<ref name="Association1915">{{cite book|author=New York State Historical Association|title=Proceedings of the New York State Historical Association with the Quarterly Journal: 2nd-21st Annual Meeting with a List of New Members|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Eog-AAAAYAAJ|year=1915|publisher=The Association|quote=It is most probable that the Bourbon Flag was used during the greater part of the occupancy of the French in the region extending southwest from the St. Lawrence to the Mississippi, known as New France... The French flag was probably blue at that time with three golden fleur - de - lis .... }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/national-flag-of-canada|title=Fleur-de-lys &#124; The Canadian Encyclopedia|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca|quote=At the time of New France (1534 to the 1760s), two flags could be viewed as having national status. The first was the banner of France — a blue square flag bearing three gold fleurs-de-lys. It was flown above fortifications in the early years of the colony. For instance, it was flown above the lodgings of Pierre Du Gua de Monts at Île Sainte-Croix in 1604. There is some evidence that the banner also flew above Samuel de Champlain’s habitation in 1608. ..... the completely white flag of the French Royal Navy was flown from ships, forts and sometimes at land-claiming ceremonies.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://inquinte.ca/story/canada-150-years-of-history-the-story-behind-the-flag|title=INQUINTE.CA &#124; CANADA 150 Years of History ~ The story behind the flag|website=inquinte.ca|quote=When Canada was settled as part of France and dubbed "New France," two flags gained national status. One was the Royal Banner of France. This featured a blue background with three gold fleurs-de-lis. A white flag of the French Royal Navy was also flown from ships and forts and sometimes flown at land-claiming ceremonies.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| author =[[W. Stewart Wallace]] |title=[[The Canadian Encyclopedia|The Encyclopedia of Canada]], Vol. II, Toronto, University Associates of Canada|year=1948|pages=350–351|quote=During the French régime in Canada, there does not appear to have been any French national flag in the modern sense of the term. The "Banner of France", composed of fleur-de-lys on a blue field, came nearest to being a national flag, since it was carried before the king when he marched to battle, and thus in some sense symbolized the kingdom of France. During the later period of French rule, it would seem that the emblem...was a flag showing the fleur-de-lys on a white ground.... as seen in Florida. There were, however, 68 flags authorized for various services by Louis XIV in 1661; and a number of these were doubtless used in New France}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gouv.qc.ca/portail/quebec/pgs/commun/portrait/drapeau/?lang=en|title=National Flag and Emblems|date=October 12, 2006|work=Portrait of Québec|publisher=[[Government of Quebec]]|access-date=April 20, 2008|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080611165104/http://www.gouv.qc.ca/portail/quebec/pgs/commun/portrait/drapeau/?lang=en|archive-date=June 11, 2008}}</ref>

[[File:Flag of the United Empire Loyalists.svg|thumb|The [[United Empire Loyalist]] flag, which is similar to but wider than the [[flag of Great Britain]]. The flag is still used in [[United Empire Loyalist#List of Loyalist settlements in Canada|loyalist settlements]] within Canada.]] As the ''[[wikt:de facto|de facto]]'' British national flag, the [[Union Jack#History|Union Flag]] (commonly known as the "Union Jack") was used similarly in Canada from the time of British settlement in [[Nova Scotia]] after 1621.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/flag-canada-etiquette/foreign-flags.html#a1 |title=Foreign flags in Canada |work=Government of Canada |date=May 8, 2018 |access-date=2021-01-15}}</ref><ref name="Union Flag">{{cite web |url=http://fraser.cc/FlagsCan/Nation/Union.html |title=Royal Union Flag |work=The Flags of Canada |access-date=2021-01-15}}</ref> Its use continued after Canada's legislative independence from the United Kingdom in 1931 until the adoption of the current flag in 1965.<ref name="first flags" /><ref name="Canada.ca">{{cite web |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/flag-canada-history.html#a2 |title=Early flags |work=Government of Canada |date=August 28, 2017 |access-date=2021-01-15}}</ref> The [[United Empire Loyalist]] flag, that is very similar to the Union Jack, was used by immigrants who remained [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|loyal to the British crown during the American Revolutionary War]]. In present-day Canada, the United Empire Loyalist flag continues to be used as symbol of pride and heritage for loyalist townships and organizations.<ref name="s891">{{cite web | title=The Loyalist Flag | website=UELAC | date=2021-12-06 | url=https://uelac.ca/monuments/loyalist-flag/ | access-date=2024-12-26}}</ref>

Shortly after [[Canadian Confederation]] in 1867, the need for distinctive Canadian flags emerged. The first Canadian flag was then used as the [[flag of the governor general of Canada]], a Union Flag with a shield in the centre bearing the quartered arms of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, surrounded by a wreath of maple leaves.<ref name="Fraser Flags">{{cite book |last=Fraser |first=Alistair B. |title=The flags of Canada |url=http://fraser.cc/FlagsCan/index.html |access-date=April 20, 2008 |date=January 30, 1998 |chapter=A Canadian Flag for Canada |chapter-url=http://fraser.cc/FlagsCan/Nation/CanFlag.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915061016/http://fraser.cc/FlagsCan/index.html |archive-date=September 15, 2008}}</ref> In 1870, the [[Red Ensign]], with the addition of the Canadian composite shield in the fly, began to be used unofficially on land and sea<ref name=CE>{{cite encyclopedia| url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/flag-of-canada/| title=National Flag of Canada| encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia| publisher=Historica Canada| access-date=February 13, 2015| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214012206/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/flag-of-canada/| archive-date=February 14, 2015| df=mdy-all}}</ref> and was known as the ''[[Canadian Red Ensign]]''. As new provinces joined the Confederation, their arms were added to the shield. In 1892, the British admiralty approved the use of the Red Ensign for Canadian use at sea.<ref name=CE /> 
[[File:Postcard of Maisonneuve Monument and Coronation.JPG|thumb|left|A Canadian postcard marking the coronation of King [[George V]] and [[Mary of Teck|Queen Mary]] in 1911, depicting a [[Canadian Red Ensign]] with a crowned composite shield of Canada in the fly, and the [[Union Flag]] below it]]

The composite shield was replaced with the [[Arms of Canada|coat of arms of Canada]] upon its grant in 1921, and in 1924, an [[Order in Council]] approved its use for Canadian government buildings abroad.<ref name="first flags" /> In 1925, Prime Minister [[William Lyon Mackenzie King]] established a committee to design a flag to be used at home, but it was dissolved before the final report could be delivered. Despite the failure of the committee to solve the issue, public sentiment in the 1920s was in favour of fixing the flag problem for Canada.<ref>{{harvnb|Archbold|2002|p=61}}</ref> New designs were proposed in 1927,<ref>{{cite web| url=http://archive.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/project-pic.asp?lang=e&ProjectID=1261&ProjectElementID=4787| publisher=Office of the Governor General of Canada: Canadian Heraldic Authority| title=Proposed Flag for Canada: Anatole Vanier, 1927| date=March 20, 2008}}</ref> 1931,<ref>{{cite web| url=http://archive.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/project-pic.asp?lang=e&ProjectID=1262&ProjectElementID=6507| publisher=Office of the Governor General of Canada: Canadian Heraldic Authority| title=Proposed Flag for Canada: Gérard Gallienne, 1931| date=March 20, 2008}}</ref> and 1939.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://archive.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/project-pic.asp?lang=e&ProjectID=1263&ProjectElementID=6427| publisher=Office of the Governor General of Canada: Canadian Heraldic Authority| title=Proposed Flag for Canada: Ephrem Côté| date=March 20, 2008}}</ref>

By the [[Second World War]], the Red Ensign was viewed as Canada's ''de facto'' national flag. A joint committee of the Senate and House of Commons was appointed on November 8, 1945, to recommend a national flag to officially adopt. It received 2,409 designs from the public and was addressed by the director of the Historical Section of the Canadian Army, [[Archer Fortescue Duguid]], who pointed out that red and white were Canada's official colours and there was already an emblem representing the country: three joined maple leaves seen on the [[Escutcheon (heraldry)|escutcheon]] of the Canadian coat of arms.<ref name=CE /> By May 9 the following year, the committee reported back with a recommendation "that the national flag of Canada should be the Canadian red ensign with a maple leaf in autumn golden colours in a bordered background of white". The [[Legislative Assembly of Quebec]] had urged the committee not to include any of what it deemed as "foreign symbols", including the Union Flag, and Mackenzie King, then still prime minister, declined to act on the report;<ref name=birth /><ref name="Fraser Flags" /><ref>{{cite web|access-date=April 17, 2008|url=http://www.mta.ca/about_canada/study_guide/debates/flag_debate.html|title=The Flag Debate |publisher=[[Mount Allison University]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080424150641/http://www.mta.ca/about_canada/study_guide/debates/flag_debate.html <!--Added by H3llBot-->|archive-date=April 24, 2008}}</ref> fearing it may lead to political instability. As a result, the Union Flag was kept as a national flag, and the order to fly the Canadian Red Ensign at government buildings was maintained.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/flag-canada-history.html|title=The history of the National Flag of Canada|website=www.canada.ca|publisher=Government of Canada|date=4 February 2020|access-date=13 June 2022}}</ref>

===Great Flag Debate===
{{Main|Great Canadian flag debate}}
By the 1960s, the debate for an official Canadian flag intensified and became controversial, culminating in the Great Flag Debate of 1964.<ref>{{cite news|access-date=April 13, 2008|url=http://history.cbc.ca/history/?MIval=EpisContent&series_id=1&episode_id=16&chapter_id=1&page_id=2&lang=E|title=The Great Flag Debate|publisher=[[CBC.ca|CBC]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081223234953/http://history.cbc.ca/history/?MIval=EpisContent&series_id=1&episode_id=16&chapter_id=1&page_id=2&lang=E|archive-date=December 23, 2008}}</ref> In 1963, the minority [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal]] government of [[Lester B. Pearson]] gained power and decided to adopt an official Canadian flag through parliamentary debate. The principal political proponent of the change was Pearson. He had been a significant broker during the [[Suez Crisis]] of 1956, for which he was awarded the [[Nobel Peace Prize]].<ref name=suez>{{harvnb|Thorner|2003|p=524}}</ref> During the crisis, Pearson was disturbed when the Egyptian government objected to [[Canadian peacekeeping|Canadian peacekeeping forces]] because the Canadian flag (the Red Ensign) contained the same symbol (the Union Flag) also used as a flag by the United Kingdom, one of the belligerents.<ref name=suez /> Pearson's goal was to create a Canadian flag that was distinctive and unmistakably Canadian. The main opponent to changing the flag was the [[Leader of the Opposition (Canada)|leader of the opposition]] and former prime minister, [[John Diefenbaker]], who eventually made the subject a personal crusade.<ref>{{cite news|access-date=March 31, 2008|url=http://archives.cbc.ca/politics/language_culture/topics/80/|title=The Great Canadian Flag Debate|publisher=[[CBC.ca|CBC]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080404225104/http://archives.cbc.ca/politics/language_culture/topics/80/|archive-date=April 4, 2008}}</ref>
[[File:Canada Pearson Pennant 1964.svg|right|thumb|A flag design created by [[Alan Beddoe]], and dubbed the ''Pearson Pennant'', being Prime Minister [[Lester B. Pearson]]'s favoured design]]

In 1961, Leader of the Opposition Lester Pearson asked [[John Ross Matheson]] to begin researching what it would take for Canada to have a new flag. By April 1963, Pearson was prime minister in a minority government and risked losing power over the issue. He formed a 15-member multi-party parliamentary committee in 1963 to select a new design, despite opposition leader Diefenbaker's demands for a referendum on the issue.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.torontosun.com/2013/06/30/flag-designer-recalls-how-he-came-up-with-the-maple-leaf-design|title=Flag designer recalls how he came up with the Maple Leaf design|author=Ron Corbett|date=June 30, 2013|newspaper=Toronto Sun|access-date=October 4, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005002250/http://www.torontosun.com/2013/06/30/flag-designer-recalls-how-he-came-up-with-the-maple-leaf-design|archive-date=October 5, 2013}}</ref> On May 27, 1964, Pearson's cabinet introduced a motion to parliament for the adoption of his favourite design, presented to him by artist and heraldic advisor [[Alan Beddoe]],<ref name=CE /> of a "sea to sea" (Canada's motto) flag with blue borders and three conjoined red maple leaves on a white field. This motion led to weeks of acrimonious debate in the [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]] and the design came to be known as the "Pearson Pennant",<ref>{{cite web|access-date=April 13, 2008|url=http://www.peak.sfu.ca/the-peak/2007-2/issue3/fe-flags.html|title=Wrong turns on the road of symbolism|publisher=[[The Peak (newspaper)|The Peak]]|date=May 21, 2007|author=Iain Reeve|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225123851/http://www.peak.sfu.ca/the-peak/2007-2/issue3/fe-flags.html|archive-date=February 25, 2012}}</ref> derided by the media and viewed as a "concession to Québec".<ref name=CE />
[[File:Flag of Canada (1964).svg|thumb|Flag design created by [[George Stanley]] and selected by the parliamentary committee]]

A new all-party committee was formed in September 1964, comprising seven Liberals, five Conservatives, one [[New Democratic Party of Canada|New Democrat]], one [[Social Credit Party of Canada|Social Crediter]], and one [[Ralliement créditiste|Créditiste]], with [[Herman Maxwell Batten|Herman Batten]] as chairman, while John Matheson acted as Pearson's right-hand man.<ref name=CE /> Among those who gave their opinions to the group was Duguid, expressing the same views as he had in 1945, insisting on a design using three maple leaves; [[Arthur R. M. Lower]], stressing the need for a distinctly Canadian emblem; [[Marcel Trudel]], arguing for symbols of Canada's founding nations, which did not include the maple leaf (a thought shared by Diefenbaker); and [[A. Y. Jackson]], providing his own suggested designs.<ref name=CE /> A steering committee also considered about 2,000 suggestions from the public, in addition to 3,900 others that included, according to [[Library and Archives Canada]], "those that had accumulated in the Department of the Secretary of State and those from a parliamentary flag committee of 1945–1946".<ref name=CE /> Through six weeks of study with political manoeuvring, the committee took a vote on the two finalists: the Pearson Pennant (Beddoe's design) and the current design. Believing the Liberal members would vote for the Prime Minister's preference, the Conservatives voted for the single leaf design. The Liberals, though, all voted for the single leaf design, as did the members from the other two parties, giving a unanimous 15 to 0 vote<ref name=CE /> for the option created by [[George Stanley]] and inspired by the flag of the [[Royal Military College of Canada]] (RMC) in [[Kingston, Ontario]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.canadianheritage.gc.ca/ |title=Canadian Heritage Flags |publisher=Canadian Heritage |access-date=October 31, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111102014648/http://www.canadianheritage.gc.ca/ |archive-date=November 2, 2011}}</ref>
[[File:Flag of the Royal Military College of Canada.svg|thumb|left|Flag of the [[Royal Military College of Canada]]]]

There, near the parade square, in March 1964, while viewing the college flag atop the Mackenzie Building, Stanley, then RMC's Dean of Arts, first suggested to Matheson, then Member of Parliament for Leeds, that the RMC flag should form the basis of the national flag. The suggestion was followed by Stanley's memorandum of March 23, 1964, on the history of Canada's emblems,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://people.stfx.ca/lstanley/stanley/flagmemo2.htm|title=George F.G. Stanley's Flag Memorandum to John Matheson, 23 March 1964 (includes Dr. Stanley's original sketches for the Canadian Flag)|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140309045945/http://people.stfx.ca/lstanley/stanley/flagmemo2.htm|archive-date=March 9, 2014|access-date=March 26, 2008}}</ref> 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 the Union Flag or a fleur-de-lis. According to Matheson, Pearson's "paramount and desperate objective" in introducing the new flag was keeping Quebec in Canada.<ref>{{cite book|author=Eva Mackey|year= 2002|title=The House of Difference|location=Toronto|publisher= University of Toronto Press|page=56}}</ref> It was Stanley's idea that the new flag should be red and white and that it should feature the single maple leaf; his memorandum included the first sketch of what would become the flag of Canada. Stanley and Matheson collaborated on a design that was, after six months of debate and 308 speeches,<ref name=CE /> passed by a majority vote in the House of Commons on December 15, 1964. Just after this, at 2:00 am, 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."<ref name=postcard>{{cite web|url=http://people.stfx.ca/lstanley/stanley/postcard.htm|title=Dr. George F.G. Stanley|publisher=St Francis Xavier University|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303232416/http://people.stfx.ca/lstanley/stanley/postcard.htm|archive-date=March 3, 2016|access-date=March 10, 2012}}</ref> The [[Senate of Canada|Senate]] added its approval two days later.<ref name=birth />

===Proclamation===
After the resolutions proposing a new national flag for Canada were passed by the two houses of parliament, a proclamation was drawn up for signature by the [[Monarchy of Canada|Queen of Canada]]. This was created in the form of an [[illuminated manuscript|illuminated]] document on [[vellum]], with [[calligraphy]] by Yvonne Diceman and [[Heraldry|heraldic]] illustrations. The text was rendered in black ink, using a [[quill]], while the heraldic elements were painted in [[gouache]] with gilt highlights. The [[Great Seal of Canada]] was embossed and secured by a silk ribbon.<ref name=Proc>{{Cite journal| last=Grace| first=John| year=1990| title=Conserving the Proclamation of the Canadian Flag| journal=The Archivist| editor-last=Library and Archives Canada| editor-link=Library and Archives Canada| publisher=National Archives of Canada| url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/publications/archivist-magazine/015002-2021-e.html| access-date=February 16, 2011| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021133944/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/publications/archivist-magazine/015002-2021-e.html| archive-date=October 21, 2012| df=mdy-all}}</ref>
[[File:Proclamation of the National Flag of Canada (January 1965).jpg|thumb|Royal proclamation of the national flag of Canada]]

This parchment was signed discreetly by the calligrapher but was made official by the signatures of Queen [[Elizabeth II]] (given on January 28, 1965<ref name=birth/>), [[Prime Minister]] [[Lester Pearson]], and [[Attorney General of Canada|Attorney General]] [[Guy Favreau]]. In order to obtain these signatures, the document was flown to the United Kingdom (for the Queen's [[royal sign-manual]]) and to the Caribbean (for the signature of Favreau, who was on vacation). This transport to different climates, combined with the quality of the materials with which the proclamation was created and the subsequent storage and repair methods (including the use of [[Scotch Tape]]), contributed to the deterioration of the document: The gouache was flaking off, leaving gaps in the heraldic designs, most conspicuously on the red maple leaf of the flag design in the centre of the sheet, and the adhesive from the tape had left stains. A desire to have the proclamation as part of a display at the [[Canadian Museum of History|Canadian Museum of Civilization]] marking the flag's 25th anniversary led to its restoration in 1989. The proclamation is today stored in a temperature and humidity-controlled plexiglass case to prevent the vellum from changing dimensionally.<ref name=Proc/>

===Adoption===
[[File:The Parliament of Canada (41122504821).jpg|thumb|The Canadian flag flying atop the [[Peace Tower]]. An official ceremony inaugurating the flag was held on Parliament Hill in 1965.]]

The new national flag was inaugurated on February 15, 1965, at an official ceremony held on [[Parliament Hill]] in Ottawa, in the presence of [[Governor General of Canada|Governor General]] Major-General [[Georges Vanier]], the Prime Minister, other members of the Cabinet, and Canadian parliamentarians. The Red Ensign was lowered at the stroke of noon, and the new maple leaf flag was raised. The crowd sang "[[O Canada]]" followed by "[[God Save the Queen]]".<ref name=flagfest>{{cite web|url=http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/ceem-cced/symbl/df1-eng.cfm|title=The National Flag of Canada; A symbol of Canadian Identity|publisher=[[Department of Canadian Heritage]]|access-date=February 15, 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415070739/http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/ceem-cced/symbl/df1-eng.cfm|archive-date=April 15, 2012}}</ref> Of the flag, Vanier said "[it] will symbolize to each of us—and to the world—the unity of purpose and high resolve to which destiny beckons us".<ref name=Flap>{{cite news| url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-s-flag-debate-flaps-on-50-years-later-1.2957192| last=Milewiski| first=Terry| title=Canada's flag debate flaps on, 50 years later| date=February 15, 2015| publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]]| access-date=February 15, 2015| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215135050/http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-s-flag-debate-flaps-on-50-years-later-1.2957192| archive-date=February 15, 2015| df=mdy-all}}</ref> [[Maurice Bourget]], Speaker of the Senate, said: "The flag is the symbol of the nation's unity, for it, beyond any doubt, represents all the citizens of Canada without distinction of race, language, belief, or opinion."<ref name=flagfest /> Yet there was still opposition to the change, and Stanley's life was even threatened for having "assassinated the flag". Despite this, Stanley attended the flag-raising ceremony.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTMdH9-kmDk&t=3m40s|title=The real story behind the Canadian Flag|work=The National|date=February 16, 2015|via=YouTube|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160331191605/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTMdH9-kmDk|archive-date=March 31, 2016}}</ref>

At the time of the 50th anniversary of the flag in 2015, the government—held by the [[Conservative Party of Canada|Conservative Party]]—was criticized for the lack of an official ceremony dedicated to the date; accusations of partisanship were levelled.<ref name=Flap /> [[Minister of Canadian Heritage]] [[Shelly Glover]] denied the charges, and others, including Liberal Members of Parliament, pointed to community events taking place around the country.<ref name=Flap /> Governor General [[David Johnston (governor general)|David Johnston]] did, though, preside at an official ceremony at [[Confederation Park]] in [[Ottawa]], integrated with [[Winterlude]]. He said, "[t]he National Flag of Canada is so embedded in our national life and so emblematic of our national purpose that we simply cannot imagine our country without it."<ref name=GG>{{cite web| url=http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=15945&lan=eng| publisher=Office of the Governor General of Canada| title=Governor General to Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the National Flag of Canada| date=February 15, 2015| url-status=live| archive-url=https://archive.today/20150216073904/http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=15945&lan=eng| archive-date=February 16, 2015| df=mdy-all}}</ref> Queen Elizabeth II stated: "On this, the 50th anniversary of the National Flag of Canada, I am pleased to join with all Canadians in the celebration of this unique and cherished symbol of our country and identity."<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=15946&lan=eng| publisher=Office of the Governor General of Canada| title=Message from Her Majesty The Queen on the Occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the National Flag of Canada| date=February 15, 2015| url-status=deviated| archive-url=https://archive.today/20150216073916/http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=15946&lan=eng| archive-date=February 16, 2015| df=mdy-all| access-date=September 9, 2023}}</ref> A commemorative stamp and coin were issued by [[Canada Post]] and the [[Royal Canadian Mint]], respectively.<ref name=GG/>