Posted on 12/31/2013 5:57:48 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Canada's "maple leaf" is one of the most readily recognized flags on earth. Meet the man who was given six weeks to come up with it, back in 1964.
From pop artist Charles Pachter’s series of Canadian flag paintings:
Will the flag he championed fly at half-mast?
That was my first thought upon hearing that World War II veteran-turned Member of Parliament John Ross Matheson passed away last Friday.
Given his keen amateur interest in heraldry, Matheson was the perfect choice to lead Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson’s quest to create a new Canadian flag, one that would symbolically separate the former colony from Great Britain.
Canada’s unofficial flag had long been the “Red Ensign,” a combination of the British Union Jack and the Canadian coat of arms.
It’s true: almost a hundred years after Confederation, we still had no official national flag.
As the big centenary neared, the Liberal government figured we’d better finally get our act together.
Not everyone was enthusiastic about getting rid of the Red Ensign, of course.
As tends to happen up here, whatever the ostensible topic, the resulting parliamentary debate turned into a sometimes heated national conversation about “Canadian identity.”
A committee was struck and informed that they had six weeks to come up with a design. (Nope, not “months” or “years.”)
The committee asked Canadians to send in suggestions, with predictable results.
I like the one with one of The Beatles in each corner — it was 1964, after all.
And to this day, not everyone loves the final design. I doubt I’m the first person to opine that a dead leaf — basically tree dandruff — isn’t the noblest national symbol.
However, I can’t deny that purely from a design (and therefore, a marketing) perspective, Canada’s new flag has been a great success.
Just ask the countless Americans who supposedly sew them onto their knapsacks before their treks through Europe, hoping for warmer welcomes.
During his tenure, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has achieved what many would’ve called impossible: He’s made it “cool” for Canadians to show their patriotism through flag waving, long scorned as an “American” gesture.
Yet I doubt that before today, many younger Canadians could name “the father of the flag.”
This widely aired, corny old “Heritage Minute” commercial celebrates John Matheson’s efforts. I expect it will be getting quite a few hits this week.
IIRC the issue of the new flag arose after the radical Quebecois Liberation terrs were bombing mail boxes and such while the divisive bi-lingual laws were being put into effect. The fore runner of our current multi-culti situation.
The suggestion that the new flag be nine beavers pissing on a frog was a strong contender.
As a school kid, we all submitted designs hoping that ours would be selected…. Mine wasn’t all that far off the final design. Mine had blue borders on both sides to stand for ‘from sea to sea’ (this being before the more popular way of designating that Canada runs from sea to sea to sea). Even then I didn’t like the fact that the Liberals used this as an opportunity to insert nothing but their party colours into our national flag. In the end, it was grudgingly accepted even by those who loved the Red Ensign…..but on a similar topic, July 1st for me, will never be anything other than Dominion Day. Psalm 72:8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.
Interesting. Can you post a picture of the prototype?
;-)
Canada has a great flag!
ping
Tabernac! Sacrilège!
Aussitot très amusant. Mais toujours meilleur "O Canada" en Français! Et aussi pas patriotique ta allusion a la reste de notre pays comme
I think you’re referring to the FLQ group, who did their domestic terrorism in 1967-70 (which culminated in the kidnapping and murder of a Quebec Cabinet Minister).
Canada’s centennial year was in 1967, and with Expo 67 at Montreal, there was obvious pressure for the country to at least have its own flag.
The problem was always integrating both the red from the English crown and the blue from the French crown, so neither of Canada’s “two founding peoples” would be alienated - one original design had the red maple leaf in the middle but the side bars in blue.
Eventually the all-red design won out, it looks good, but you still hear grousing from the Quebec separatists about too much “English red”.
Canada Ping!
Actually, the new flag was adopted several years before the FLQ started making trouble.
Pray tell, when do you NOT HEAR carping and grousing from the Québécois on anything and everything? Mon Dieu, that is an English word in that sign!
The “nine frogs pissing on a beaver” was a bitter joke. No official proposal was made.
As to images, I can find none on the interwebs.
However, somewhere there might be one of these treasures gathering dust.
Quote: After sales of the proposed flag faded a little bit, people kept asking for the design with nine beavers pissing on a frog. Sure, okay, we had ‘em. I had a fistful of flags, a variety to keep the market happy, and then the big guys came in and took over. It’s classic.
C'est la version française de Maple Leaf Forever?
I remember the Flag Debate all too well.
“Canada has no national flag!” - the Red Ensign was a battle flag - we needed no other, imho.
The Liberal Party had its way, however, and we caught up with the Americans in the flag-waving department. This is appalling from a traditional Canadian perspective.
-RED_ENSIGN.jpg)
RIP.
I’ve always thought it to be a very stylish, beautiful flag.
RIP.
“The problem was always integrating both the red from the English crown and the blue from the French crown, so neither of Canada’s “two founding peoples” would be alienated - one original design had the red maple leaf in the middle but the side bars in blue.
Eventually the all-red design won out, it looks good, but you still hear grousing from the Quebec separatists about too much “English red”.”
I liked the flag that was circulating years ago during one of the separatist drives; it was used by people opposing secession by Quebec, and instead of the maple leaf in the middle it was 1/2 of a maple leaf joined to 1/2 of the fleur-de-lis. IMHO, would have been better as the national flag than the current one. In fact, the old one (with the Union Jack in the corner) looked more serious than the current one (and I’m no fan of Britain).
Luckily, I live in a B.C. backwater - the Ensign flies at the local Canadian Legion and at several homes; the Maple Leaf not so much.
It’s not that I dislike the new flag - I dislike the people who prefer it.
Thanks for posting the flag image!
The old flag reminds me of the flag of the city of Montreal; St. George’s cross with a red rose, a thistle, a shamrock, and a fleur-de-lis in the corners.
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