National Flag of Canada Day and Extra Relevance of Flag Given Current Geopolitical Situation
Inquiry--Debate Adjourned
February 5, 2026
Rose pursuant to notice of February 3, 2026:
That he will call the attention of the Senate to National Flag of Canada Day and the extra relevance of our flag given the current geopolitical situation.
He said: Honourable senators, I was going to offer everybody who stays this late a bottle of champagne, but I think a bottle of maple syrup might be more appropriate.
For those of you who will be here tomorrow morning, I want to invite you to attend a round table on youth unemployment that we’re having, myself and several other senators, from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. here in the Senate of Canada Building.
Colleagues, I’m honoured today at this great hour to launch an inquiry on the importance of the Canadian flag and consider what the Canadian flag means to us as Canadians.
The timing of this debate is scheduled with Flag Day in mind, which is coming up in 10 days, on February 15. I am delighted to invite you, colleagues, to present your thoughts on this matter today and in the days ahead.
Coincidentally, this inquiry comes at the time when the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics are underway, with the formal opening ceremony taking place tomorrow.
Also, in the weeks ahead, Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen will be part of NASA’s Artemis II mission to land on the moon. He will become the first Canadian to walk on the moon.
These, indeed, are flag-waving occasions.
So what is Flag Day? This day marks the sixty-first anniversary of the red-and-white maple leaf flag, which became our official flag on February 15, 1965, when the first flag was raised on the Peace Tower of Centre Block.
Interestingly, this followed a donnybrook of a political debate, initiated by then-prime minister Lester B. Pearson with the proposal for a new flag and opposed vociferously by then-Progressive Conservative leader and former prime minister John Diefenbaker.
It is because a flag means so much to citizens that changing it is a deeply passionate matter.
What is notable about that whole initiative is that at the end of the debate, Diefenbaker went with Pearson to London, to Buckingham Palace, in December 1964, when Queen Elizabeth gave Royal Assent to the new flag.
It was a time when opposing parties could have passionate and even raucous debates, but, at the end of the day, they accepted and supported the outcome.
We fly the flag for various reasons. However, at a time when our sovereignty is under threat, it is our way of showing our pride. Whether we wave the flag vigorously or simply wear it discreetly on our lapel, it is our way of saying, “I am Canadian, I believe in this country, I’m proud to be Canadian and proud to call Canada my homeland.”
As parliamentarians, many of us have the great privilege to represent Canada in international conferences and summits. The Canadian flag and our Canadian citizenship are matters of considerable pride.
Regardless of who we are meeting, I always find it great fun to hand out maple leaf flag pins. In a crowd of parliamentarians from any country, people will jostle to get one. At times, giving someone a Canadian flag pin is a great show of friendship and conversation starter — a conversation that is always friendly and positive.
As an aside, let me add that one of the fun things about such conversations is that our counterparts from anywhere else in the world will be anxious to tell us that they have relatives in Canada. This too is what our flag stands for.
Colleagues, I would suggest to you that with the geopolitics around the globe these days, as the globe turns nasty, aggressive and uncaring, our pride in our flag is of greater importance than ever before.
Our flag says a lot. We are not a superpower intent on expanding territories. We are not interested in displaying unnecessary aggression toward others. We are not interfering in the affairs of other countries so as to destabilize them, expand our powers in those nations surreptitiously or damage their economies.
We do not invade other nations. We are Canadian, which means we believe in the right of all countries to exist. We believe in healthy multilateralism, helping international development, the international rule of law, fair trade and respect, yet we can say clearly when we disagree or need to press other countries to be fair and just.
That is what wearing the Canadian flag means. It is a statement of many things: who we are, what we stand for and why our friendship is important, whether it is with other people or other nations.
It also means that we are a country that is introspective — that we look inward at our positives and negatives and constantly try to improve our country for all Canadians, sometimes with success and sometimes not so much.
Colleagues, you will know that to mark Flag Day last year, in 2025, through the Artwork and Heritage Advisory Working Group of the Senate and with the support of Speaker Gagné, we installed the wall of provincial and territorial flags in the foyer of this building.
This is the first time that we have a permanent installation of full-size flags of all the provinces and territories in the Senate of Canada, be it in this building or back in the day in Centre Block. These flags build on the emblems that exist in this chamber and the original doors of the Senate Chamber.
These flags remind us that our work in the Senate is relevant to all provinces and territories. Honourable senators, let me quote from some of our former prime ministers.
It was 61 years ago, on February 15, 1965, when former prime minister Lester B. Pearson, the visionary behind this flag, inaugurated this great symbol. Let me share what he said:
May the land over which this new flag flies remain united in freedom and justice; a land of decent God-fearing people; fair and generous in all its dealings; sensitive, tolerant and compassionate towards all . . . industrious, energetic, resolute; wise, and just in the giving of security and opportunity equally to all its cultures; and strong in its adherence to those moral principles which are the only sure guide to greatness.
Colleagues, two days ago, at the ceremony of the unveiling of former prime minister Stephen Harper’s official portrait on Parliament Hill — an event I was honoured to attend, as many of you were — Mr. Harper said the following:
We must preserve Canada, this country handed down to us by providence, preserved by our ancestors and held in trust for our descendants. We must make any sacrifice necessary to preserve the independence and the unity of this blessed land . . . .
In closing, let me quote from a letter issued a year ago by the five living former prime ministers at the time — Joe Clark, Kim Campbell, Jean Chrétien, Paul Martin and Stephen Harper — in marking the sixtieth anniversary of the flag:
In recent weeks, we’ve witnessed a surge of Canadian pride and patriotism. In the face of threats and insults . . . Canadians have come together to express their love for our country and their determination to defend Canada’s values and our independence.
The letter also stated, “As former prime ministers of Canada, we applaud this national spirit.”
The former prime ministers urged fellow Canadians to proudly fly the flag “. . . as never before” on National Flag of Canada Day. The joint statement also said, “Let’s show the world that we are proud of our history and proud of our country.”
The five of us come from different parties. We’ve had our share of battles in the past. But we all agree on one thing: Canada, the true north, strong and free, the best country in the world, is worth celebrating and fighting for. . . .
Their sentiments are as relevant today as they were last year. Thank you.
Honourable senators, I believe I’m the last speaker this evening, so I will do my best to leave you with an uplifting note.
Honourable senators, I am honoured to speak at this late hour to this important inquiry, and I thank Senator Cardozo for launching this inquiry this evening.
Tonight, I rise to speak about one of the most recognizable symbols in the world, a symbol synonymous with prosperity, opportunity and resilience. This symbol has inspired generations of immigrants to settle in Canada. Of course, I am talking about the Canadian flag.
February 15 is National Flag of Canada Day. I would like to thank Senator Cardozo for raising this issue again this year and giving us the opportunity to talk about what the Canadian flag means to us.
In 2024, during a speech on the same subject, I spoke of the pride I felt as a young boy in Montreal waving the Canadian flag during the 1972 World Series. That moment will remain etched in my memory forever.
Today, I would like to reflect on the symbolism of the Canadian flag for immigrants and, beyond the image itself, the profound meaning that the red maple leaf holds for new Canadians.
For more than six decades already, our flag has represented a shared history, woven together by generations of people who chose this country as their home and found in a simple maple leaf a powerful promise.
This may surprise a few senators, but I am actually older than our national flag. You’re all surprised, right? I’m getting a laugh this late in the evening. It’s pretty good.
While the flag as we know it today did not yet exist when my parents made the difficult decision to leave Italy, the maple leaf — whether on a coin, a stamp, a postcard or a passport — already carried enormous weight and influence for them, and it still does.
For countless immigrant families, the maple leaf has always stood for opportunity, stability and the hope that their children could grow up in a country full of possibility, a safe place where freedom and democracy prevail and a nation where hard work is valued and diversity is embraced.
For families fleeing conflict, uncertainty or limited opportunity, Canada’s flag has been a beacon — a place where dreams could be rebuilt and where hope could take root, much like the roots of a sturdy maple tree.
As a second-generation immigrant, I know that immigrants don’t just come to Canada — they become Canada, they build Canada and they embody Canada.
Like my parents, and like my siblings and me, they learn the language, embrace Canadian values and contribute to our economy, culture and civic life. They open businesses, work in hospitals and classrooms, build our homes and highways and enrich our communities with new ideas and traditions. Immigration is inseparable from Canada’s success story. We are a nation of immigrants. Past, present and future, newcomers have strengthened our nation — not by abandoning who they are, but by adding their talents and experiences to the greater Canadian family.
Throughout my career, I have participated in many multicultural events across Quebec and Canada. Whether it was with the Italian community, Hellenic community, Lebanese community, Jewish community, Tamil community, Portuguese community or countless other communities that I’ve been involved with, there was always one common denominator proudly on display at these community events and fundraisers, and that was the Canadian flag. I have witnessed this reality time and again. We are all proud to be Canadian.
The red maple leaf reminds us that while our backgrounds may differ, our commitment to Canada unites us all. It symbolizes peaceful coexistence, shared responsibility and the belief that diversity is not a weakness but a strength.
As we celebrate our national flag’s birthday, let us honour the generations of immigrants who believed in Canada’s promise and helped build the nation we are proud to call home. Let us recommit ourselves to the values our flag embodies and ensure that Canada remains a land of opportunity — a safe, welcoming place where families can thrive.
We owe it to our parents and grandparents who sacrificed so much, but we mostly owe it to our grandchildren who will one day wave that same flag with pride and fulfillment.
Happy Flag Day, Canada.
