Flag Day in Canada

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A patriotic display in Toronto, ON, marks Flag Day.

Flag Day is celebrated on February 15 in Canada, commemorating the adoption of the Maple Leaf flag on that date in 1965. The day is marked by flying the flag, occasional public ceremonies (especially in 2005, its 40th anniversary), and educational programs in schools.

The banner replaced the Red Ensign which had been in use, if not officially, in one form or another since 1868. The new distinctive Canadian Flag first flew on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, on Feb. 15, 1965.

Flag Day was instituted in 1996 by an Order-in-Council from Governor General Roméo LeBlanc, on the advice of the Cabinet of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, and is officially called "National Flag of Canada Day". Outside of the federal government, however, this title is little used. The official name could be interpreted as suggesting there is a national flag for Canada Day, July 1st. The somewhat awkward official name, with insertion of the qualifying words "of Canada", likely stems from the problem of using the word "national" in Canada, where it is invoked by various groups such as aboriginal peoples, called First Nations, and by the province of Quebec, which uses it to refer to itself (e.g., National Assembly of Quebec). At the official level, it was decided "National Flag Day" would not fly. Despite this, "National Flag Day", and especially "Flag Day", are commonly used.

At the very first Flag Day ceremony in Hull, Quebec, Chrétien's speech was drowned out by a group of demonstrators upset by proposed cuts in the unemployment insurance legislation. Chrétien left the stage and while walking through the crowd he encountered Bill Clennett, one of the demonstrators who was shouting, "Chrétien, au chômage" ("Make Chrétien unemployed"). Chrétien grabbed Clennett by the neck and pushed him aside. Chrétien was criticized for this incident, which came to be dubbed the "Shawinigan Handshake", after Chrétien's town of birth Shawinigan, Quebec.

When hung vertically against a wall, the Maple Leaf should point left.

Numerous Canadians feel that Flag Day should be declared a national statutory holiday, as there is a long period early in the year (between New Year's Day and Good Friday) without any holidays (except in Alberta and Saskatchewan: see Alberta Family Day). That suggestion grew louder as the flag celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2005. On Flag Day 2007, New Democratic Party MP Peggy Nash introduced a private member's bill to make Flag Day a national statutory holiday. Nash says her bill would make Flag Day a federal holiday and it would be up to the provinces to decide if they also wanted the statutory holiday.