The history of the Canadian flag and the long road to settle on its ultimate design is being celebrated today.
    
Today is Flag Day, a day which recognizes tradition, and our identity with the Canadian flag.

Shayne Campbell, President and Executive Director of the Settlers Rails and Trails Museum in Argyle, explains the day to recognize our flag started in the 1990s. It's a celebration that has continued each year since then on February 15th.

He explained our flag remains a great national symbol to stand behind, 53 years after it was first unveiled on Parliament Hill.  "It's interesting how 53 years later the flag is still as modern and fresh, graphically, as it was in 1965," said Campbell.

To say the creation of our Canadian flag was a contentious issue is not an understatement.  The Canadian government's efforts to create a flag went on for decades, beginning in the 1890s right up to the 1960s, "and those efforts seemed to fail each time," said Campbell.  "In 1961, Prime Minister Pearson (Lestor B. Pearson) promised Canadians we would have a Canadian flag by the centennial, so he was giving himself a tightrope to walk there."

Campbell said the design for the flag was selected from 3,000 versions sent to Ottawa, and after much debate, was approved by the House of Commons in 1965.
    
He noted, it is said, that the 'great flag debate' was more debated than any other topic in Canadian history, even contentious than World War 1 and World War 2.

Juno Beach Centre, France - Canadian Flag flies with allies flags during 2014 75th anniversary of D-Day

Washington, DC, USA - Canadian flag flies outside our embassy

Celebration Flags - Embassy flags on display in Argyle, Manitoba at Settlers, Rails & Trails Inc.

Celebration Flags - Centennial (1967), Canada 125 (1992) and Canada 150 (2017) flags on display in Argyle, Manitoba

Centennial flags in a display case - vintage flags; Pearson Pennant (1964), Canadian Red Ensign (1880s), Centennial flag set & box (1967) & the Peace Tower Flag from Ottawa in the wooden box

Shayne Campbell with the City of Winnipeg Flag, part of a display of Canadian Capital cities