Should Canada adopt the Red Ensign as a co-official civil flag?

[Machjo]

The Maple-Leaf flag is now the official state flag of Canada and, in the absence of a different civil flag, has served as the civil flag of Canada too.

While keeping the Maple-Leaf as its official state flag for official purposes, should Canada adopt both the Maple-Leaf and the Red Ensign as its co-official civil flags?

I understand that any private citizen can already freely fly whatever flag he wants in front of his house or waive whatever flag he wants at a Canada-Day celebration, so giving an official status to the Red Ensign would be purely symbolic since any private citizen can freely fly it already anyway. I still think that it would be a positive symbolic gesture for the government to recognize the Maple-Leaf as the official state flag and the Maple-Leaf and Red Ensign as the official civil flags just to give it the historical recognition it deserves.

Your thoughts on this?

[-1=e^ipi]

No.

 

Down with the monarchy! No damn monarchist flag!

[Machjo]

31 minutes ago, -1=e^ipi said:

No.

 

Down with the monarchy! No damn monarchist flag!

It would merely be a co-official civil flag alongside the Maple-Leaf, meaning that people would be free to not use it if they don't want to. The Maple-Leaf would remain the sole official state flag. In other words, the state would not actually use it but just confer an official status on it as a symbolic sign of respect for it. No one would be forced to use it.

 

So if I understand you correctly, you'd be opposed to even so much as granting it a symbolic official status that would have little no no practical bearing?

Edited July 26, 2018 by Machjo

[-1=e^ipi]

Yes, I oppose that.

The state should not give a symbolic sign of respect to a monarchy.

The state should be secular and egalitarian. The monarchy violates both principles.

[Machjo]

2 hours ago, -1=e^ipi said:

Yes, I oppose that.

The state should not give a symbolic sign of respect to a monarchy.

The state should be secular and egalitarian. The monarchy violates both principles.

Who knows? Maybe you're right about not giving an official civil status to the 1957 Canadian Red ensign especially given how anyone can legally fly it anyway and that to give it such an official status would be purely symbolic with no practical consequence anyway.

I would still like such a status conferred on it for its symbolic significance but accept that it wouldn't change anything in practical terms I guess.

[August1991]

4 hours ago, -1=e^ipi said:

No.

 

Down with the monarchy! No damn monarchist flag!

Strongly agree - no monarchy. I prefer a federal republic.

I would have preferred a flag with both blue and red. At the time, partisan federal Liberals (Pearson) chose red alone.

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The Liberals will gain their wish in name only: a flag of solely red but a country of blue vs orange.

[Machjo]

11 hours ago, August1991 said:

Strongly agree - no monarchy. I prefer a federal republic.

I would have preferred a flag with both blue and red. At the time, partisan federal Liberals (Pearson) chose red alone.

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The Liberals will gain their wish in name only: a flag of solely red but a country of blue vs orange.

Actually, the motive for the red had little to nothing to do with the Liberal Party. King George V had made red and white the official colours of Canada in 1921, red from St. George's cross and white from the white from a French royal emblem.

The Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism was established just before the Maple-Leaf flag was adopted and published its report not long after with a mandate to explore the relationship between the 'two founding races.' within that historical context, the choice of red and white was more probably a subtle bow to the English and the French but without explicit symbols beyond these more than any link to the Liberal Party's colours.

 

Sure the Liberal Party's colours may have played a role too, but if so, then a very secondary one.

[Machjo]

And actually, Pearson originally proposed the Pearson Pennant which had three red maple leafs on a white background and two blue bars on the sides to symbolize the Canadian motto from sea to sea.