National Flag Day of Canada: Eh?

When is National Flag of Canada Day? Most Canadians don't know; most people don't talk about it, they don't think about it and they don't fly the flag.

Judy Anderson, Director of Programming for the Talk About Canada! Scholarship Quiz thinks there are a number of reasons for this.

"Flag Day is Feb. 15 and is overshadowed by Valentine's Day. It's cold and snowy and people don't want to be outside on a ladder putting up a flag. The biggest reason, of course, is that we are Canadian and we don't indulge in 'hand-over-the-heart' patriotism."

Until 1965 Canada didn't have its own flag. In 1964 Lester Pearson, our prime minister and winner of the 1957 Nobel Peace prize, decided to introduce a new flag as a means of promoting national unity and pride. He wanted it to be "distinctive and unmistakably Canadian".

According to Anderson, "Although we now take it for granted, the idea of a new flag was not an instant success. In Winnipeg,  2000 Royal Canadian Legionnaires stood up and booed Pearson.  In parliament the acrimonious Great Flag Debate lasted six months until it was ended by closure.  The designer, George Stanley, received death threats from angry imperialists who did not want to give up their ties to Britain.  Diefenbaker, the previous Prime Minister, was so incensed that at his funeral his coffin was covered by the Maple Leaf flag with the Red Ensign laid on top - an insult from the grave."

These kinds of stories are what Anderson is interested in when she searches for new questions for the quiz. 

"My goal for the Talk About Canada! Scholarship Quiz is to show the excitement and the emotion of our history," she said.    

What is the best way to spend National Flag Day of Canada this year according to Anderson? 

"Go on-line at www.talkaboutcanada.ca and celebrate by learning more about Canada."