1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:11,760 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:11,760 --> 00:00:14,920 Speaker 1: a show that proudly flies the flag of history seven 4 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:19,000 Speaker 1: days a week. I'm Gaye Lousier and in this episode, 5 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:21,680 Speaker 1: we're talking about the story behind one of the most 6 00:00:21,760 --> 00:00:25,880 Speaker 1: recognizable flags in the world, including how it almost became 7 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:29,720 Speaker 1: the only national flag to bear a semi aquatic rodent 8 00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:34,040 Speaker 1: acclaim to fame that's still up for grabs, I'm just saying. 9 00:00:37,960 --> 00:00:44,680 Speaker 1: The day was February nine, the red maple leaf flag 10 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:48,000 Speaker 1: was raised for the first time as the national flag 11 00:00:48,159 --> 00:00:52,400 Speaker 1: of Canada. The public ceremony was held at Parliament Hill 12 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:57,120 Speaker 1: in Ottawa, the nation's capital. That morning, the former flag 13 00:00:57,280 --> 00:00:59,920 Speaker 1: was lowered for the last time, and at the stroke 14 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:04,160 Speaker 1: of noon, the new one was raised. Thousands of Canadians 15 00:01:04,200 --> 00:01:08,360 Speaker 1: attended the event, including Prime Minister Lester Pearson, who had 16 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:12,520 Speaker 1: championed the new flag caused himself the year before. He 17 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:16,680 Speaker 1: marked the occasion with a hopeful blessing, saying, quote, may 18 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:20,960 Speaker 1: the land over which this new flag flies remain united 19 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:26,720 Speaker 1: in freedom and justice, sensitive, tolerant, and compassionate towards all. 20 00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:31,160 Speaker 1: Many different flags had flown above Canada since its founding, 21 00:01:31,480 --> 00:01:34,920 Speaker 1: but the unofficial national flag used just prior to the 22 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:39,039 Speaker 1: maple leaf flags adoption was known as the Canadian Red 23 00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:42,440 Speaker 1: End Sign. If you've never seen it, it's a red 24 00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:45,959 Speaker 1: flag with the UK's Union Jack symbol in the upper 25 00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:48,880 Speaker 1: left corner and the shield of the coat of Arms 26 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:52,520 Speaker 1: of Canada to the right. The flag was a holdover 27 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:55,880 Speaker 1: from the late eighteen hundreds, when the Union Jack was 28 00:01:55,920 --> 00:01:59,160 Speaker 1: included as a symbol of Canada's allegiance to the Crown 29 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:02,520 Speaker 1: and its member ship in the Commonwealth. By the turn 30 00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:05,840 Speaker 1: of the twentieth century, many Canadians felt the flag no 31 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:09,640 Speaker 1: longer represented them as a nation. The call for a new, 32 00:02:09,919 --> 00:02:14,160 Speaker 1: uniquely Canadian flag grew as the years went by, and 33 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:17,080 Speaker 1: reached its peak in the years following World War Two. 34 00:02:17,919 --> 00:02:21,600 Speaker 1: A nineteen fifty eight pole found that eighty percent of 35 00:02:21,639 --> 00:02:26,000 Speaker 1: the population favored replacing the red end sign with something 36 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:29,200 Speaker 1: that wouldn't get the country confused for the United Kingdom. 37 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:33,120 Speaker 1: By nineteen sixty three, the demand for a new flag 38 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:36,919 Speaker 1: had grown big enough to become a party platform. In fact, 39 00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:41,360 Speaker 1: Lester Pearson was elected Prime Minister that year, partly because 40 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:45,320 Speaker 1: he had pledged to solve what he called the flag problem. 41 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:50,280 Speaker 1: Within two years of taking office, that campaign promise proved 42 00:02:50,320 --> 00:02:53,640 Speaker 1: harder to keep than expected, as creating a national flag 43 00:02:53,760 --> 00:02:57,480 Speaker 1: from scratch raised the question of how best to symbolize 44 00:02:57,560 --> 00:03:00,799 Speaker 1: Canada and its values, and every one had their own 45 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:04,760 Speaker 1: opinion on that, but Pearson was determined to see the 46 00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:08,680 Speaker 1: task through, no matter how contentious things got along the way. 47 00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:12,600 Speaker 1: He believed a new flag was vital to Canada's identity 48 00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:17,480 Speaker 1: as an independent nation. The country's centennial celebrations were set 49 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:21,519 Speaker 1: to take place in nineteen sixty seven, and Pierson wanted 50 00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:24,480 Speaker 1: them to take place beneath the new flag of a 51 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:28,320 Speaker 1: unified nation. He got the ball rolling in May of 52 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:31,560 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty four, while speaking at a convention for the 53 00:03:31,639 --> 00:03:35,680 Speaker 1: Royal Canadian Legion and what proved to be a surprisingly 54 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:40,560 Speaker 1: controversial speech, the Prime Minister announced his intentions, saying, quote, 55 00:03:41,040 --> 00:03:43,960 Speaker 1: I believe most sincerely that it is now time for 56 00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:48,080 Speaker 1: Canadians to unfurl a flag that is truly distinctive and 57 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:52,440 Speaker 1: truly national in character, as Canadian, as the maple leaf, 58 00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:57,080 Speaker 1: which should be its dominant design, A flag easily identifiable 59 00:03:57,200 --> 00:04:00,800 Speaker 1: as Canada's, a flag which cannot be staken for the 60 00:04:00,840 --> 00:04:04,240 Speaker 1: emblem of any other country, a flag of the future 61 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:09,120 Speaker 1: which honors also the past, Canada's own and only Canadas. 62 00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:14,160 Speaker 1: To show you as serious. Pearson actually recommended a specific 63 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:18,520 Speaker 1: design to members of Parliament that year. Created by artists 64 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:23,080 Speaker 1: and designer Alan Badeaux, the so called Pearson pennant featured 65 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:26,480 Speaker 1: a sprig of three red maple leaves against a white 66 00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:32,200 Speaker 1: background bordered by two blue stripes. The design wasn't popular 67 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:35,599 Speaker 1: with most members of Parliament, so instead they formed a 68 00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:38,480 Speaker 1: committee and gave it six weeks to come up with 69 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:43,479 Speaker 1: a new recommendation for a national flag. The committee invited 70 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:46,800 Speaker 1: citizens to suggest their own ideas for the design, and 71 00:04:46,880 --> 00:04:50,520 Speaker 1: it wound up receiving three thousand, five hundred and forty 72 00:04:50,520 --> 00:04:55,360 Speaker 1: one submissions. The vast majority were variations on a handful 73 00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:59,200 Speaker 1: of common themes. For example, more than two thousand of 74 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:03,440 Speaker 1: the designs featured maple leaves. Other popular inclusions were the 75 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:06,880 Speaker 1: union jack, the floor de lis, and a beaver, all 76 00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:10,359 Speaker 1: of which appeared in about four hundred designs each. A 77 00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:13,960 Speaker 1: select few even included all of the above in the 78 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:17,680 Speaker 1: same design. My personal favorite is the one with a 79 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:21,520 Speaker 1: beaver wearing a little mounty hat, but sadly it didn't 80 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:25,279 Speaker 1: stand a chance, as you no doubt noticed, the maple 81 00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:29,240 Speaker 1: leaf was a standout favorite, just as Pearson had anticipated. 82 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:32,920 Speaker 1: It was an obvious choice for a Canadian symbol, as 83 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:35,960 Speaker 1: it had been associated with the region for hundreds of years. 84 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:40,080 Speaker 1: The sap and wood of maple trees had been crucial 85 00:05:40,160 --> 00:05:43,839 Speaker 1: of the survival of indigenous people's and European settlers alike. 86 00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:48,240 Speaker 1: In fact, in eighteen thirty four, the mayor of Montreal 87 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:52,120 Speaker 1: declared the maple tree quote king of the Forest and 88 00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:56,440 Speaker 1: symbol of the Canadian people. Over a century later, that 89 00:05:56,640 --> 00:06:00,320 Speaker 1: status hadn't changed. In the same nineteen five d eight 90 00:06:00,400 --> 00:06:04,039 Speaker 1: pole I mentioned earlier, six of those who favored a 91 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:08,000 Speaker 1: new flag wanted the maple leaf to be on it. However, 92 00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:12,440 Speaker 1: not everyone got behind the idea. Former Prime Minister John 93 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:17,080 Speaker 1: Diefenbaker lamented that a maple leaf flag would convey quote, 94 00:06:17,480 --> 00:06:21,120 Speaker 1: no indication of the existence of French and English Canada 95 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:25,960 Speaker 1: or the partnership of the races, no acknowledgement of history. 96 00:06:26,440 --> 00:06:30,520 Speaker 1: Other detractors agreed, with some pointing out that sugar maple 97 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:35,159 Speaker 1: trees didn't grow west of the Ontario Manitoba border and 98 00:06:35,200 --> 00:06:39,280 Speaker 1: therefore could never be a truly national symbol, but the 99 00:06:39,279 --> 00:06:42,680 Speaker 1: biggest complaint by far was that the maple leaf was 100 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:46,520 Speaker 1: kind of dull and didn't elicit strong feelings in most 101 00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:50,920 Speaker 1: people one way or the other. According to Rick arc Bold, 102 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:55,360 Speaker 1: author of A Flag for Canada, the maple leafs inoffensive 103 00:06:55,440 --> 00:06:59,080 Speaker 1: nature is exactly what made it so appealing. As he 104 00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:02,520 Speaker 1: put it quote, the real plus for the maple leaf 105 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:06,360 Speaker 1: was its very lack of an established personality and its 106 00:07:06,360 --> 00:07:10,400 Speaker 1: innocence of mythic or commercial associations. At a time when 107 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:14,280 Speaker 1: fierce tribal and religious loyalties repeatedly threatened the survival of 108 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:17,600 Speaker 1: the young Dominion, anyone could look at the maple leaf 109 00:07:17,760 --> 00:07:21,600 Speaker 1: and see an unassuming, neutral symbol that posed no threat 110 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 1: to his or her identity or interests. In the end, 111 00:07:26,520 --> 00:07:30,280 Speaker 1: that safe choice won the day, but not before several 112 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:35,840 Speaker 1: weeks and thirty five sessions of intense parliamentary debate. This period, 113 00:07:36,080 --> 00:07:39,440 Speaker 1: known as the Great Flag Debate, saw a fierce battle 114 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:42,040 Speaker 1: between those who wanted to hold on to the symbols 115 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:45,800 Speaker 1: of Canada's colonial past, like the Union jack, and those 116 00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:48,960 Speaker 1: who wanted to move forward by adopting a new symbol 117 00:07:49,280 --> 00:07:52,280 Speaker 1: like a beaver and a mounte hat. By November of 118 00:07:52,400 --> 00:07:56,080 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty four, the committee had whittled the designs down 119 00:07:56,080 --> 00:08:00,160 Speaker 1: to just three contenders, the Pearson pennant put forward by 120 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:03,440 Speaker 1: the Prime Minister, a three and one design featuring a 121 00:08:03,480 --> 00:08:06,680 Speaker 1: maple leaf, the Union jack and the Florida League, and 122 00:08:06,800 --> 00:08:10,520 Speaker 1: a third design submitted by George Stanley, the dean of 123 00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:15,200 Speaker 1: Arts at the Royal Military College in Ontario. Stanley proposed 124 00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:18,280 Speaker 1: a design featuring a single red maple leaf on a 125 00:08:18,320 --> 00:08:23,320 Speaker 1: white background bordered by two vertical red stripes. It was simple, 126 00:08:23,520 --> 00:08:28,320 Speaker 1: yet bold and distinctive. Pearson tried one last ditch effort 127 00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:31,960 Speaker 1: to get his choice adopted, but in a decisive vote 128 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:36,760 Speaker 1: of fourteen to zero, Parliament show's Stanley's single leaf design instead. 129 00:08:37,720 --> 00:08:43,240 Speaker 1: A month later, on January, the new maple leaf flag 130 00:08:43,320 --> 00:08:46,760 Speaker 1: was made official by a proclamation from Queen Elizabeth the Second. 131 00:08:47,400 --> 00:08:50,760 Speaker 1: She also declared February fift as the date when the 132 00:08:50,800 --> 00:08:54,120 Speaker 1: flag would be raised and recognized by all Canadians for 133 00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:58,280 Speaker 1: the first time. Along the way, the stylized design of 134 00:08:58,280 --> 00:09:01,520 Speaker 1: the maple leaf was slightly a justed, changing from a 135 00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:05,040 Speaker 1: thirteen point maple leaf to a more generic eleven point 136 00:09:05,120 --> 00:09:08,599 Speaker 1: leaf that's meant to represent any of the ten species 137 00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:12,520 Speaker 1: of maple trees native to Canada. This was done not 138 00:09:12,640 --> 00:09:16,240 Speaker 1: only for esthetic reasons, but to address the earlier concern 139 00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:19,400 Speaker 1: that some species of maple trees only grow in certain 140 00:09:19,440 --> 00:09:23,280 Speaker 1: parts of the country. One member of Parliament in particular 141 00:09:23,679 --> 00:09:26,319 Speaker 1: is credited for his role in finally putting an end 142 00:09:26,360 --> 00:09:30,440 Speaker 1: to the great flag debate. His name was John Matheson, 143 00:09:30,800 --> 00:09:34,840 Speaker 1: and his leadership helped achieve consensus within the New Flag Committee. 144 00:09:35,400 --> 00:09:39,680 Speaker 1: He later perfectly summed up the lengthy collaborative effort, calling 145 00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:44,800 Speaker 1: the national flag quote the handiwork of many loving hands, 146 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:49,960 Speaker 1: extended over a long period of Canada's history. Today, the 147 00:09:49,960 --> 00:09:52,679 Speaker 1: flag is a symbol of the values that the country 148 00:09:52,720 --> 00:09:58,640 Speaker 1: and its people stand for, cooperation, courtesy and equality. Long 149 00:09:58,679 --> 00:10:03,960 Speaker 1: may it fly. I'm Gay, Bluesier and hopefully you now 150 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:07,679 Speaker 1: know a little more about history today than you did yesterday. 151 00:10:08,559 --> 00:10:11,360 Speaker 1: You can learn even more about history by following us 152 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:16,240 Speaker 1: on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at t D I HC Show, 153 00:10:16,920 --> 00:10:19,679 Speaker 1: and if you have any comments or suggestions, I'd love 154 00:10:19,720 --> 00:10:21,840 Speaker 1: to hear them. You can send them to us directly 155 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:26,000 Speaker 1: at this day at I heart media dot com. Thanks 156 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:28,800 Speaker 1: to Chandler Mays for producing the show, and thank you 157 00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:32,000 Speaker 1: for listening. I'll see you back here again tomorrow for 158 00:10:32,120 --> 00:10:44,760 Speaker 1: another day in history class. For more podcasts for my 159 00:10:44,760 --> 00:10:47,439 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 160 00:10:47,520 --> 00:10:49,240 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.