Canadian Flag Debate Research Paper

Canada had been an outstanding country for many years but has always lacked one important thing. Until the year 1965, Canada did not have their own official flag. The Canadian flag debate was a major controversy to Canada because many thought it was about time for Canada to have their own flag years after gaining their independence from Britain. The Canadian flag debate had a very interesting background and the Canadians involvement towards the flag debate was just phenomenal. As well as the creation of the Canadian flag, there was also a great deal of importance behind the Canadian flag debate itself within Canada. The Canadian flag debate was one of the most significant parts of Canadian history in the modern era.

In the 1963 federal election
In 1945, Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, having flown the Union Jack over Parliament throughout the war, made the Canadian Red Ensign the official Canadian flag by Order in Council. Mackenzie King also tried to give Canada a new flag. The recommendation that came back was a Red Ensign, but substituting the coat of arms of Canada with a gold maple leaf. Mackenzie King stopped the venture. ("Great Canadian Flag Debate," Wikipedia) In 1963, Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson pitched his idea for a new flag during a speech to the Canadian Legion in Winnipeg."I believe that today a flag designed around the Maple Leaf, will symbolize and be a true reflection of the new Canada." As boos resonated throughout the audience, Pearson got a glimpse of the controversy he 'd unleashed. Instead of uniting the country, the flag became yet another divisive issue. Support, laments and threats poured in to Pearson 's office as the country debated its flag. Canadians were deeply divided on the flag issue. Some felt a strong attachment to the mother country and its Union Jack. Others disagreed on what new symbol should represent the country. ("Flag Debate," The Canadian Encyclopedia) It was only Quebec that showed more of a lack of interest towards the flag issue. "Quebec does not give a tinkers dam about the
Although, there were various governmental flags which represented Canada as a state, there was no formal flag which represented Canada as an independent nation. The flag debate did not result from indifference on the part of Canadians towards flags, but quite the reverse. It resulted from the passion that these symbols aroused in Canadians. The difficulty of the flag debate did not arise from any inherent unwillingness of Canadians to proclaim their identity upon flags, but their factious inability to agree upon a common symbolic identity. In retrospect, the choice of such a symbol would seem to have been inevitable, but now to see a maple leaf is to think of Canada. The overall importance was that many people helped out throughout the process and in the end everyone was happy with the end product of the new Maple leaf