This photo from 1965 shows a ceremony held at Rolph Street Public School when Canada’s national flag was raised for the first time. The Union Jack is being removed in the photo.
Photo courtesy Annandale National Historic Site.
By Jeff Helsdon
Editor
A day of national importance came and went with little fanfare, and most Canadians didn’t even know it existed.
Feb. 15 was National Flag Day. The day marks the anniversary of the day the maple leaf flag became Canada’s national flag. This year, it was more significant because it was the flag's 60th anniversary.
Oxford MP Arpan Khanna encouraged residents to display the flag.
"As we celebrate the 60th anniversary of our national flag, it is time to unite under the red and white,” he said in a news release. “Regardless of your political beliefs, I encourage everyone to display our flag, whether on a pole, in a window or pinned to a jacket. Let's proudly show off our maple leaf!”
He also talked of what the flag means.
"As we mark 60 years of the maple leaf, we must also express our deep gratitude to those who have worked, sacrificed, and even given their lives to defend the freedoms we hold dear and to build the country we call home. Their legacy is our responsibility, and like them, I pledge always to put Canada first,” he said. "As we reflect on what it means to be Canadian, let us cherish the unity that the flag represents and look to the future with optimism, knowing that the maple leaf will always inspire and unite us."
There were no ceremonies in Tillsonburg to mark the 60th anniversary in 1965.
On Feb. 15, 1965, an official ceremony was held at Annandale High School to raise the new Canadian flag for the first time. The mayor, Oxford County warden, and Legion officials took part. The first flag was raised in Tillsonburg at 11:56 a.m. A ceremony was also held at Rolph Street Public School, but there are few details about it.
At confederation, the Royal Union Flag (commonly known as the Union Jack) was flown on Canadian buildings. The Canadian Red Ensign, a flag similar to the current Ontario flag, except the crest had representation from all provinces, was approved for Canada’s use at sea by the British Admiralty. It never received any official designation on land and both it and the Union Jack were used across the country.
With the centennial of the Confederation approaching in 1964, Prime Minister of the day Lester B. Pearson wanted the country to have a national flag, and a committee was struck. It was down to three finalists: a flag similar to the present design but with blue stripes on each end and three red maple leaves in the centre, a flag based on the red ensign but with a fleur-de-lis and Union Jack, and the present design with stripes on both ends and a single maple leaf.
The debate about the flag design wasn’t just on Parliament Hill. Former Tillsonburg News editor Bill Pratt recalls initially being in the camp wanting some blue on the flag as a historical tribute.
“There was considerable conversation and several designs for a new Canadian flag at the time,” he said. “Many, like me, wanted some of our country’s past maintained in the flag. But, once decided, we accepted the new design. It became our flag, waving over our country.
The flag design, chosen by Dr. George Stanley, incorporates much Canadian history. Red and white were on the General Service Medal issued by Queen Victoria and were proclaimed Canada’s national colours by King George V in 1921. A single red maple leaf on a white field has been worn by Canadian Olympic athletes since 1904.
The new design was approved by a resolution in the House of Commons on Dec. 15, 1964, and then proclaimed by Queen Elizabeth II to take effect on Feb. 15, 1965.
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