The official Flag of Ontario first flew outside Queen’s Park on May 21, 1965. It was raised in a ceremony led by Progressive Conservative Premier John Robarts.

Flag of OntarioThe Ontario flag is very similar to the Canadian Red Ensign, the unofficial Canadian flag flown outside government buildings prior to 1965, as both have a red field and the British Union Flag in the canton (top left corner). The only difference is the Ontario shield of arms replaced the Canadian one in the fly (right side in the middle).

The effort to find an official Flag of Ontario began as a direct result of the bitter and prolonged debate across our country over adopting a new Canadian flag, which started shortly after the Second World War. The Canadian flag debate really heated up in 1963 under Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson. Following a lengthy and heated debate in the federal legislature and in numerous committee hearings, the official Canadian flag as we know it today was adopted (almost 100 years after Confederation).

Canadian Red EnsignIn the mid-1960s, the new design of the Canadian flag was unpopular among many Ontarians and English speaking Canadians in general, especially those in rural communities or military families. For example, it was the Red Ensign that Canadian troops carried with them into battle in the Second World War.

As a result, Premier Robarts proposed that Ontario would create its own flag that would look similar to the more popular Red Ensign. While Robarts supported the new national flag, he said the Ensign was an important symbol that reflected Ontario's British heritage and the sacrifices made by Canadian troops under that banner.

Quite the opposite of the federal debate, the leaders of both the Ontario Liberal and New Democratic Parties supported the Ontario flag design. In fact, only two opposition MPPs voted against the flag design when it was passed by the Ontario Legislature.

Since that day, the Ontario flag as we know it has flown outside Queen’s Park, government buildings and the homes of proud Ontarian’s for more than 40 years.

I hope everyone had Merry Christmas. Just as a reminder, I will be hosting my annual New Year’s Levees on Sunday, Jan. 4. The first is at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Mount Hope (9280 Airport Road) from 1:00PM to 2:30PM in the museum’s Dofasco Dome. The second is at Fielding Estates Winery in Beamsville (4020 Locust Lane) from 3:30PM to 5:00PM. Both events are free for the public to attend. Non-perishable food items will be collected in support of local charities.