Was the maple leaf Canadian flag to appease Quebec?

[blackbird]

Just reading about the Great Canadian Flag Debate in 1965.  PM Pearson brought in the new maple leaf flag and got rid of the previous flag, the Canadian Red Ensign.  The Red Ensign was the Canadian Armed Forces flag.  It showed our connection to the British Commonwealth.  The new maple leaf flag got rid of that.  Was it to appease Quebec?  I don't know.  The maple leaf flag was brought in by the Liberals which are a Quebec political party to a large extent.  The maple leaf seems to have a lot to do with Quebec if I'm not mistaken.  At the time of the flag debate,  former PM John Diefenbaker opposed changing the flag to the maple leaf flag.  But the Liberals were the government at the time and managed to force it through Parliament.

It seems to me our history would be better preserved by keeping the Red Ensign flag as shown below.  At least one great thing is the British Columbia flag still has our British roots on it.  Not sure how long that will last with the BC NDP trying to hand B.C. over to the natives though.  Better not say to much about that.  We don't want the BC NDP to get any ideas.

Edited December 29, 2025 by blackbird

[John Stone]

9 hours ago, blackbird said:

Just reading about the Great Canadian Flag Debate in 1965.  PM Pearson brought in the new maple leaf flag and got rid of the previous flag, the Canadian Red Ensign.  The Red Ensign was the Canadian Armed Forces flag.  It showed our connection to the British Commonwealth.  The new maple leaf flag got rid of that.  Was it to appease Quebec?  I don't know.  The maple leaf flag was brought in by the Liberals which are a Quebec political party to a large extent.  The maple leaf seems to have a lot to do with Quebec if I'm not mistaken.  At the time of the flag debate,  former PM John Diefenbaker opposed changing the flag to the maple leaf flag.  But the Liberals were the government at the time and managed to force it through Parliament.

It seems to me our history would be better preserved by keeping the Red Ensign flag as shown below.  At least one great thing is the British Columbia flag still has our British roots on it.  Not sure how long that will last with the BC NDP trying to hand B.C. over to the natives though.  Better not say to much about that.  We don't want the BC NDP to get any ideas.

 

.... a move like this is def political - an attempt to strengthen National unity - likely there was indications that there were  increasing French / English tensions at the time. ......... 

Likely, the strategy was a failure - the October Crisis, War Measures Act, Rene Levesque, Official Languages act and and on .........has fomented division but the worse was yet to come. 

Tensions between the two founding culture identities had existed for hundreds of years but during this period Quebec discovered or was empowered with real political power  in the form of Separatist political  parties in Quebec and in Ottawa - the Sword of Damocles hanging over any Prime Minister. Is it absurd to believe that in a minority government a Separatist Party might get the deciding vote on NATIONAL policy. OMG - belies belief! 

Repatriating the BNA Act  1982) though was the nail that will likely destroy the country - the NWC  was given with the naive understanding that Quebec would be the only Province to use it - the enticement to sign on to the repatriation. 

The new flag did not unify Kanada - yes, people fly it -  just like they would have flown the Red Ensign.  

Are 8-Bells tolling for a Nation's survival? 

Now, if Canada was serious - it might seriously consider becoming  a Republic - but even that would NOT appease. 

 

Edited December 29, 2025 by John Stone

[TreeBeard]

Why do you hate Canada so much that you want to change our national symbols?  Let me guess…. You want to tear down statues too.  

[herbie]

That's what I like about Conservatives.
 Still stuck on the 'flag debate' 60 years later, still under the misconception that our own identity is simply one of tradition and they lost something in order to appease someone else.

Keep going, bleat about the horrors of bilingualism and the metric system next....

Like don't even try to crawl out from the pigeon holes yourselves, just whine that someone else made them.

[John Stone]

My fav has to be the vilification of the guy that consolidated the country - Sir John A MacDonald. 

...........  while at the same time applauding a dangerous religious fanatic, felon, and rebel opposed to the Canadian nation. 

[TreeBeard]

47 minutes ago, John Stone said:

while at the same time applauding a dangerous religious fanatic, felon, and rebel opposed to the Canadian nation

I think, like the statue vilifiers, you’re skipping a lot of nuance.  
 

 

[Moonbox]

1 hour ago, herbie said:

That's what I like about Conservatives.
Still stuck on the 'flag debate' 60 years later, still under the misconception that our own identity is simply one of tradition and they lost something in order to appease someone else.

It's really not a "Conservative" thing.  It's an axe to grind for the dumbest and most easily distracted parts of the Conservative base - a completely irrelevant topic and something that happened when my parents were children and decades before I was born.  The impact of the change on Canada cannot be understated.  

I'll save myself some time and put blackbird on ignore with August.  

 

[ironstone]

1 hour ago, TreeBeard said:

Why do you hate Canada so much that you want to change our national symbols?  Let me guess…. You want to tear down statues too.  

It's usually only one side that goes around tearing statues down and we both know which side that is.🤨

[Legato]

1 hour ago, TreeBeard said:

Why do you hate Canada so much that you want to change our national symbols?  Let me guess…. You want to tear down statues too.  

Is that why Pearson changed it?

[TreeBeard]

20 minutes ago, ironstone said:

It's usually only one side that goes around tearing statues down and we both know which side that is.🤨

As I said above, that “side” is not my side either.  You’re all a bunch of nincompoops.  

[herbie]

4 hours ago, Moonbox said:

It's really not a "Conservative" thing.

It is when it plays into their common victim theme that even the slightest recognition of someone else is taking something from them. Which solely has negated the Conservative Party into something I can never support. Mulroney was too 'woke' for them now.

[Legato]

8 minutes ago, herbie said:

It is when it plays into their common victim theme that even the slightest recognition of someone else is taking something from them. Which solely has negated the Conservative Party into something I can never support. Mulroney was too 'woke' for them now.

Never??????? LoL

[August1991]

17 hours ago, blackbird said:

Just reading about the Great Canadian Flag Debate in 1965.  PM Pearson brought in the new maple leaf flag and got rid of the previous flag, the Canadian Red Ensign. 

.....

The federal Liberals chose the flag: Red.

This was another proposal:

[blackbird]

Strangely a search engine won't tell me which party brought in equalization payments in 1957.  We know the Liberals were in power until June 1957 and then the Conservatives under Diefenbaker took office.  

Billions of dollars are paid to Ontario and especially Quebec through equalization payments.  Much comes from Alberta.

Then in 1982 PM Pierre Trudeau, a strong Socialist from Quebec, enshrined equalization payments in the new Constitution, making it guaranteed that Quebec would continue to receive billions of dollars each year from western Canada.  In fact, it was Pierre Trudeau that nationalized the Alberta energy industry with his national energy program.  I assume that was eventually ended.  Of course the reason it ended was equalization payment essentially did the same thing by taking money from the west, particularly Alberta and giving it to Ontario and Quebec.

The new maple leaf flag brought in by the Liberals under Lester Pearson in 1965 was a major concession to Quebec.  It seems Quebec has been able to milk the rest of Canada all along for everything they want.

 

Edited December 30, 2025 by blackbird

[blackbird]

7 minutes ago, August1991 said:

The federal Liberals chose the flag: Red.

This was another proposal:

A weird one, eh.

[August1991]

17 hours ago, blackbird said:

.....

Was it to appease Quebec?  I don't know.  The maple leaf flag was brought in by the Liberals which are a Quebec political party to a large extent.  The maple leaf seems to have a lot to do with Quebec if I'm not mistaken.  At the time of the flag debate,  former PM John Diefenbaker opposed changing the flag to the maple leaf flag.  But the Liberals were the government at the time and managed to force it through Parliament.

.....

Appease is a strong word. 1938.

The Maple is a tree that grows in Ontario/Quebec -not in western Canada.

John Diefenbaker was not a WASP - he was a populist, but he wanted respect.

The fleur-de-lis is important in Quebec.

 

Edited December 30, 2025 by August1991

[TreeBeard]

1 hour ago, August1991 said:

The federal Liberals chose the flag: Red.

This was another proposal:

The “Pearson Penant”.   Tell us again how the Libs chose a red flag when this was the PM’s favourite at the time.  
 

You nincompoops always ignore history to suit your ridiculous narrative.  

[TreeBeard]

19 hours ago, blackbird said:

Was it to appease Quebec? 

Wouldn’t it have contained a fleur-de-lis if this were the case?

[Nefarious Banana]

The maple leaf looks similar to the marijuana sprig. Fitting reminder of Canada's worst Prime Minister.

[TreeBeard]

5 minutes ago, Nefarious Banana said:

The maple leaf looks similar to the marijuana sprig. Fitting reminder of Canada's worst Prime Minister.

He lives rent-free in your head. 

[Nefarious Banana]

6 minutes ago, TreeBeard said:

He lives rent-free in your head. 

Are we a little sensitive regarding your Liberal hero? 

My apologies.

[John Stone]

15 hours ago, TreeBeard said:

I think, like the statue vilifiers, you’re skipping a lot of nuance.  
 

 

........ Nuance, perhaps ................ but not the politics.

This is not nuance - if anything, it is Realpolitik.

On 4 March 1870 Scott was marched out of Fort Garry's east gate and was executed on the wall by the provisional government of the Red River Settlement led by Louis Riel.  

Somewhat akin to the Quebec,  October Crisis 

Paul Rose (1943 2013) was a Quebec nationalist, a convicted murderer and terrorist known for his role in the October Crisis.  Rose was convicted of the kidnapping and murder by strangulation of Quebec Deputy Premier, Pierre Laporte in 1970. A Quebec government commission later determined in 1980 that Rose was not present when Laporte was killed, despite a recorded confession. He was released on parole in 1982.

Rose / "I regret nothing: 1970, the abductions, the prison, the suffering, nothing. I did what I had to do. Placed before the same circumstances today, I would do exactly the same thing. I will never deny what I did and what happened. It was not a youthful indiscretion."

A  motion was tabled  in the Quebec provincial legislature to honour his death.  

[TreeBeard]

13 hours ago, Nefarious Banana said:

Are we a little sensitive regarding your Liberal hero? 

My apologies.

😂 

One of the worst PMs in my lifetime, but I don’t bring him up in every thread when he’s not but a memory.  Legalizing pot was actually one of the few things he did that was worthwhile.  

[Nefarious Banana]

1 hour ago, TreeBeard said:

😂

One of the worst PMs in my lifetime, but I don’t bring him up in every thread when he’s not but a memory.  Legalizing pot was actually one of the few things he did that was worthwhile.  

Again, my apologies to you for my insensitivity concerning your obvious fondness for sparkle socks and nice hair. In reality though, the object of your peculiar fondness owes the entire country of Canada an apology.  Stay well, stay blind.  😎

[herbie]

16 hours ago, Nefarious Banana said:

The maple leaf looks similar to the marijuana sprig

Do you wait for yours to turn red and fall off or something?
That's not quite how you do go about growing weed....