Canadian Flag as Part of Celebrating National Flag of Canada Day
Inquiry--Debate Adjourned
February 15, 2024
Honourable senators, I rise today to speak to Inquiry No. 20 and join other colleagues to speak about the Canadian flag.
I thank Senator Cardozo for initiating this inquiry. It was 59 years ago today, on February 15, 1965, that our flag was raised for the very first time on the Peace Tower. I still pinch myself when I walk up the Hill and look up at the flag. Serving as a Canadian Senator — I’m sure you would all agree — is the privilege of a lifetime, and I do not take this work lightly.
My love affair with the Maple Leaf — not the Toronto Maple Leafs — goes back many decades.
Join me as we travel back in time to September 1972.
I had just turned 10 years old the month before, and spent the greater part of the summer playing with friends — soccer, the beach and street hockey — and enjoying two months of homework-free evenings. But all good things must come to an end.
Going back to school that year also coincided with a major international event in Montreal.
It was on September 2 — at the iconic Montréal Forum, just a few blocks from my childhood home — that the puck was dropped on the 1972 Summit Series. As an avid hockey fan and wannabe hockey superstar, the Summit Series was the ultimate sporting event. It was two hockey superpowers facing each other in an eight-game series, with games in both Canada and the Soviet Union.
No trophy, no medals and no cash prize — it was all about bragging rights and claiming the title of best in class.
What a disappointment, however, when our Canadian squad fell 7 to 3 to the Soviets at the Forum. Thankfully, two days later in Toronto, Esposito, Cournoyer and the Mahovlich brothers, one of which is a former colleague of ours, found the back of the net and tied the series 1 to 1.
When the series eventually moved to Moscow, Canada was trailing behind the Soviets. We lost game five, but came back roaring in games six and seven. The series was tied. Game eight would crown the winner.
It was September 28. It was do-or-die time.
For the occasion, my entire school at Sainte-Rita’s was gathered in the school gym to watch the game live on this small black and white TV. The puck dropped at noon — our time.
I remember it like it was yesterday: the excitement, the hype, the pressure and the pride in watching Canada’s best, adorning the maple leaf on their sweaters, as they represented us on the world stage.
For those old enough to remember, you will recall that Canada was trailing 5 to 3 by the end of the second period. Our boys only had 20 minutes left.
During the intermission, I was telling all my friends not to worry, and that Canada would win — being an optimist from a young age. I’m not a betting man, but my good friend — one of my best friends — who was very skeptical and mocking my optimism, challenged me to a friendly wager. I could not refuse. We had to keep the gym morale positive. We bet a quarter — my bus fare home — that Canada would make a comeback.
Two minutes into the third period, Esposito made it 5 to 4. With seven minutes left, one of my childhood idols, Yvan Cournoyer, tied it. We all know what happened with 34 seconds left in the game. I’m not going to yell, but Paul Henderson — the goal of the century.
The entire gym rose to its feet. We cheered. We hugged. We cried. And we proudly waved our small Canadian flags. And, of course, I also pocketed an extra quarter that afternoon, which is worth so much more today.
People were in the streets celebrating, waving their flags and singing the anthem. For days and weeks, that feeling of pride intoxicated me.
In fact, that pride in our nation, which is represented by the Maple Leaf, has never left me. It’s with fond memories and a feeling of great pride and belonging that I look back on this moment in my life. And at the heart of this episode was Canada’s flag. Thank you. Meegwetch.
Honourable senators, as I rise today — on National Flag of Canada Day — here in this chamber, located on the unceded and unsurrendered lands of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation, I am sensitive to the fact that we are discussing the flag of a country born out of the colonization of Indigenous peoples. It’s a flag which no longer carries the specific iconography of one of the colonizing nations, but a flag that nonetheless represents a country which is — still today — a work-in-progress in terms of its relationships and reconciliation with the original peoples and the decolonization of this bountiful territory we share.
When former prime minister Lester B. Pearson launched his quest for a new flag for Canada, he was looking for a flag which would represent a nation coming of age — a flag of a more mature and sophisticated nation, a flag of a nation which had participated valiantly in two world wars, a flag of a more diverse nation, a flag of a nation about to turn 100, and a flag that Canadians could rally around and be proud of when they celebrated the centenary and flocked to the ultimate national coming-of-age extravaganza, Expo 67 in Montreal.
Colleagues, change is hard for many people, and changing a flag from the one that Canadians fought under in both world wars — many of whom were still alive in 1965 — was particularly difficult, especially for a minority government to pull off.
Colleagues, each one of us has our own memories and experiences of the Canadian flag, with its red borders and its bold stylized red maple leaf against the white square centre. The maple leaf has many associations, from the Indigenous peoples who had discovered the food properties of maple sap, to the historical usage on Olympic and military uniforms, to coins and the song composed by Alexander Muir for Confederation entitled “The Maple Leaf Forever.”
Some of us remember — yes, we do — the great flag debate, and some of us were born into a Canada where our current flag had been flying over the Peace Tower for some years.
Today, I just want to share a few short stories of my own experiences of the Canadian flag.
When I was a young schoolgirl, I became aware of the great flag debate because my elementary school bus driver used to express his own strong opinions on the bus about his preference for a beaver to be the dominant symbol on the new flag. Little did I know at the time, there were, in fact, thousands of designs, including one with the four Beatles on it, sent to Ottawa by Canadians who had strong opinions like my bus driver. There were hundreds of speeches made in Parliament — most arguing against the final design. With a good design, a Herculean effort and the leadership of some key people, the bill to adopt the new flag passed the House of Commons with a vote of 163 to 78, and passed the Senate with a vote of 38 to 23.
When I moved to Antigonish in 1997, my awareness of the flag’s origins grew. The daughter of George Stanley — the man who designed our flag — Laurie Stanley-Blackwell, was a history professor at St. Francis Xavier University. Her father had been the dean at the Royal Military College of Canada. Her husband, John Blackwell, has written extensively about the story of our flag and the many people involved in the design and parliamentary consideration.
That flag, with its beautiful and strong simplicity, was a source of pride for my 12-year-old self when I visited Expo 67 and was exposed, for the first time, to the amazing diversity of the world — and to see my country, Canada, in the midst of that international cultural richness on display.
It was an awakening for me in my own coming-of-age period of life.
It was, therefore, no surprise that I proudly affixed that flag to my backpack the first time I travelled through Europe at age 17. Thank goodness the parliamentarians before us didn’t choose the “Maple-Spangled Banner,” a Canadian take on the Star-Spangled Banner, which had 10 stars representing the 10 provinces in the middle of the maple leaf. One thing we young Canadian travellers were trying to do was distinguish ourselves from the Americans.
In more recent times, I was so proud to share in the joy and pride of the large group of new Canadians — among them was my friend Tareq Hadhad, CEO of Peace by Chocolate, from my hometown of Antigonish — at their Canadian citizenship ceremony at Pier 21 in Halifax. Our Canadian flag was a symbol of safety, freedom and opportunity for the new Canadians who waved it proudly that day. Colleagues, I must admit that since the occupation of our parliamentary area and downtown Ottawa by the so-called “Freedom Convoy,” and the profane ways some people defaced and used our Canadian flag as their symbol, it has taken me some time, honestly, to be able to see our flag the way I used to.
Having said that, colleagues, I hope it is now time to start the process to move past that divisive and polarized period, and to reclaim the Canadian flag for all Canadians. It is an iconic and beautiful national symbol. Hopefully, by next year, the sixtieth anniversary of our flag, we can all wave them in that very Canadian way, not boastfully, but with humility, pride in who we are and hope for whom we are committed to still become. Wela’lioq. Thank you.
I have a question for Senator Coyle, but first I would like to congratulate everyone for their great speeches, which have been thoughtful and uplifting. I would also mention that I will keep the inquiry open for at least another week. Thank you, Your Honour and the Black Rod, for having more flags around the building today. I’m trying hard to come up with a question I’m going to ask Senator Coyle.
Thank you for speech. I wonder if you would share an example of how the flag was accepted or otherwise commented on by fellow travellers in Europe or elsewhere when you were travelling with the flag.
Well, by the time I travelled to Europe at 17 years old, my bus driver wasn’t travelling around Europe, so he wasn’t disappointed there wasn’t a beaver on it. As many in this room — and I notice that Senator Cuzner has a Canadian flag on his backpack; I saw that today that he was carrying it in this chamber.
I noticed two things, really. It was a way for Canadians to connect as we travelled and met up with each other from different parts of Canada. It was also to start conversations with fellow travellers from other parts of the world. I never saw anyone using the Canadian flag who wasn’t Canadian. I think there may be some urban mythology out there about that, and not to put down anyone else.
It was just such a source of pride. I do think that the reason we got that flag just before the centennial year was that there was just such a boost, such a feeling of confidence and pride in our country, and that was shared by all of us who met on the road.
