Flag of the Governor General of Canada

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The Flag of the Governor General of Canada
Flag ratios: 2:3 (on land), 1:2 (at sea)

The Flag of the Governor General of Canada was adopted in 1981. It features Canada's royal crest: a crowned lion holding a red maple leaf in its paw, standing on a wreath of the official colours of Canada (red and white), on a blue background. The flag differs from the flags of Governors-General in the other Commonwealth realms, in that the flag does not feature the country's name, and the inclusion of the maple leaf and wreath as national symbols. Prior to 1981, the Governor General's Flag was similar to the other realms: the lion crest (the royal crest of the United Kingdom), with the name of the country below being the only national marker.

The flag takes precedence over the National Flag, but not over the Queen's Personal Canadian Flag, or the flag of a Lieutenant Governor of a province at the Lieutenant Governor's residence, or on occasion when the Lieutenant Governor is preforming his duties as The Queen's representative in the province.

The flag is flown from the Governor General's official residence, Rideau Hall, and any other building the Governor General is visiting. The flag may also be flown from the Governor General's car. On overseas visits, the National Flag is used as a more recognisable Canadian symbol.

1 Previous Governor General flags
2 The Right Honourable Roméo LeBlanc
3 See also
4 External link

[edit] Previous Governor General flags

1901-1921

1921-1931

1931-1981

1999-2002

The first Governor General's flag was adopted in 1901 and followed the design of other vice regal flags in use throughout the British Empire, a Union Flag defaced with the Coat of Arms of Canada. The design was updated in 1921, when the coat of arms changed to the current design. In 1931, the Flag of Governor General was changed to reflect the Balfour Declaration of 1926 whereby the Governor General was now the representative of the British monarch in the Dominion of Canada, rather than a representative of the British government. The 1931 design remains the basic design of Governor General flags in the other Commonwealth realms.

[edit] The Right Honourable Roméo LeBlanc

During the period the Right Honourable Roméo LeBlanc was Governor General of Canada, he asked that the standard of the Governor General be modified to be more "Canadian."

Quote from http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/ca-govg.html :

The Canadian newspaper National Post reported on Monday, August 16, 1999, that a revised flag has been introduced for Canada's Governor-General. The revision is to the lion emblem in the flag. Governor-General Romeo LeBlanc did not like the attitude of the lion used previously. The lion, previously regardant and poking its tongue at observers, is now deprived of its claws and has its tongue politely hidden in its mouth. The change has been introduced gradually and quietly, but the new flag is already fluttering at the Governor-General's web site.