Flag of Manitoba

The official flag of the Province of Manitoba is the Red Ensign bearing the shield of the provincial Coat of Arms. It was given royal approval by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in October 1965 and was officially proclaimed by the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. on 12 May 1966. The flag was adopted in the period after the national Flag of Canada was proclaimed and when most Canadian provinces and territories adopted flags. With the demise of the Canadian Ensign as a national symbol, both Manitoba and Ontario chose to adopt provincial flags based on its design to commemorate and preserve its longstanding association with Canada.^[1][2]

National Context

The interest in a Manitoba provincial flag predates the Canadian national flag debate. From the early 1960s, Canadian provinces increasingly sought means of branding as a means of establishing their identity. Quebec adopted its provincial flag in 1948 in response to the Canadian government’s failure to establish a national flag acceptable to the province. British Columbia followed suit in 1960, adopting a flag based on the shield of its coat of arms – an armorial ensign. Prince Edward Island followed suit in 1964, also adopting an armorial ensign as its provincial flag.^[3]

Early Flag Initiatives

The government of Manitoba began to investigate the creation of a distinctive provincial flag as early as February 1961. At that time, plans were in place to have 600 “flag idea teams” of five members each working throughout the province with the intent that by 1 April 1961 a number of possible flag designs would be ready for review.^[4] Eventually, the plan for a provincial flag was shelved, although it was speculated that a possible design of the flag was to be based a St. Andrew’s Cross centred with the coat of arms of Manitoba. This may have recalled the early role of Scottish settlers in the Selkirk Settlement.^[5] The issue of a provincial flag was raised again in November 1963, as a project to commemorate the forthcoming Canadian (1967) and provincial (1970) centennial celebrations in Manitoba. The Manitoba Centennial Corporation formed 13 sub-committees to carry out a number of commemorative projects. A sub-committee was formed under the direction of Judge C. C. Sparling to study suggestions for the adoption of a provincial flag.^[6]

Provincial Flag Proposal Revived

The impetus to adopt a provincial flag arose after the federal government had decided upon a national Flag of Canada. In December of 1964, when the debate was coming to an end and the Liberals were on the verge of victory, the Provincial Secretary of Manitoba, Maitland Steinkopf, announced in an interview with the Winnipeg Free Press that Manitoba would soon be seeking its own provincial standard. Maitland thought that a:

“…a provincial flag is needed in the worst way...[t]he government has been planning to adopt a provincial standard for more than a year. But action has been delayed until now in order to allow the federal government time to settle the current dispute about a national flag.”

The government’s scheme to adopt a provincial flag had been suspended (as had Ontario’s flag scheme) but resumed when the national flag debate concluded.^[7] It was originally intended that the provincial government would canvas appropriate flag designs through public competition. However, due to both the rancour stirred by the national flag debate, and public exhaustion with flag issues, this did not occur.^[8]

Choice of Red Ensign

The new national flag was met with a mixture of joy or weary acceptance by the Canadian public. Though most Anglophones had largely preferred the status quo of using the Union Jack or Canadian Ensign as national flags, there was reluctant acceptance of Prime Minister Pearson’s claim that a new flag was required for national unity.^[9] A new flag was intended to bring Quebec closer into Confederation and dampen rising separatist sentiment. Notwithstanding, many in English Canada also felt sorrow on the passing of the respected Red Ensign, long familiar in national life to generations of citizens. The Canadian Red Ensign had come to prominence during both world wars and had been adopted as the national emblem for Canadian Forces Overseas in 1944.^[10]

A Progressive Conservative amendment to have the Ensign adopted as the flag representing allegiance to the Crown and Canada’s membership of the Commonwealth was proposed in Parliament in December 1964. This compromise (first suggested by French Canadian MP Léon Balcer in September) was rejected by the government, and the Union Flag was adopted for this role. Personal animosity between Prime Minister Pearson and Opposition Leader Diefenbaker may have played a role, the former not wishing to concede anything to the latter.^[11] Senator Marcel Prud’homme, a Liberal MP in 1964, claimed in 2007 that “we had to kill the Red Ensign” so that it would not rival the new maple flag.^[12]

After the Canadian Ensign was consigned to history by the Federal Government, many provinces discussed adopting a version of it as a provincial flag, with both Manitoba and Ontario subsequently adopted provincial flags based on the historic Red Ensign. Premier Roblin stated that the new Canadian flag was “the most important emblem of Canada’s nationhood” and that the provincial flag was being adopted to ensure that the Red Ensign did not pass from history in Manitoba.^[13] Provincial Secretary Maitland B. Steinkopf believed the design reflected the “general wishes and sentiments of the people of Manitoba” and that the provincial flag would a historical compliment to the new Flag of Canada.^[14]

Bill 131

Reflecting the widespread support for a Manitoba Red Ensign within the province, the design was recommended and approved by the Winnipeg and District Labour Council in December 1964. However, in February 1965, the council’s executive withdrew the resolution and instead advised the government that it favoured the adoption of a provincial flag, though without specifying any particular design.^[8]

The Honourable Robert G. Smellie, Minister of Municipal Affairs, introduced Bill 131 “An Act respecting the Flag of Manitoba,” on 30 April 1965 proposing a flag based on the Canadian Ensign with the provincial shield as the new flag of the province. The Bill passed Second Reading on 5 May, with the Third Reading on 10 May. It was approved by the Lieutenant-Governor on 11 May. The flag design received Royal Assent in October 1965, and was officially proclaimed on 12 May 1966, the ninety-sixth anniversary of the Manitoba Act 1870.^[15]

Flag Raising Ceremony

The provincial flag was raised on an estimated 2,000 schools and public buildings across the province. The main ceremony was held at Memorial Park, opposite the Legislative Building, and attracted an audience of 2,500, including MLAs, government and veterans and community groups. The ceremony was addressed by Premier Duff Roblin, as well as opposition members. NDP leader Russ Paulley thought the new provincial flag could be a unifying symbol, and evidence “of not being apart but being a part of this great Dominion.”  The flag was blessed and the Mennonite Children’s Choir sang “Manitoba.”^[16]

The two flag raisers were symbolically chosen as representative of Manitoba’s Indigenous and British heritage. Cornelius Bignell, a board member of the Manitoba Centennial Corporation, and formerly an elected councillor and Chief of The Pas Indian Band (now Opaskwayak Cree Nation).^[17] The latter represented by Edward Button, a descendant of Thomas Button, the explorer who in 1612 raised the first British flag over what is now Manitoba.^[18] The government had also issued an invitation to any native Manitoban who was born in 1870 - the year the province joined Confederation, to attend a post-flag raising ceremony reception. None were reported to have come forward.^[19]

Historic Symbolism

Prime Minister Pearson sought the adoption of a new Canadian flag on the grounds that a national emblem featuring prominent British symbols could no longer represent a country with an increasingly assertive French‑Canadian population. This imperative, however, did not extend to provincial flags and many would incorporate culturally and historically significant emblems. Bruce Patterson, the Deputy Chief Herald of Canada, has noted that the retention of the Red Ensign in the provincial flags of Manitoba and Ontario ultimately represented a pragmatic compromise: advocates for a new national symbol achieved their objective, while the traditional Red Ensign was preserved in Canadian public life.^[20]

The US-based North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) conducted a survey in 2001 of various US and Canadian state, provincial and territorial flag designs, and placed Manitoba’s flag 44 out of 72 flags.^[21] In 2001, the Winnipeg Free Press held a contest to design a potential new flag for Manitoba, with the top 34 designs selected for voting. The winning entry came from Heather Jones of Fort Rouge, whose design consisted of a stylized blue bison set against a golden sun. However, the flag was never adopted by the province.^[22]

Flag designs are not easily compared. It has been noted by flag scholar Graham Bartram, chief vexillologist at the Flag Institute, "There's often a fundamental misunderstanding of flags by politicians. Saying you like a flag because of its design is like saying you like your family because they are all handsome or beautiful. You love them because of who they are, unconditionally. Flags are a bit like that."^[23]

A motion calling for a change to the flag was put forward on the program at the provincial New Democratic Party's annual convention in March 2009.^[24] However, it failed to make the deadline to get voted on and consequently did not proceed further.^[25] This move was condemned, however, with one Canadian newspaper stating, “Rebranding Manitoba through the denial of its past would do nothing to advance the province’s identity.”^[26]

In 2024, an online poll on the flag was conducted by Probe Research on the “appropriateness of Manitoba’s provincial symbols.” It found a near even split with marginally more supporting the retention of the existing flag (51%) than those wishing it replaced (49%). Probe principal Curtis Brown observed, “When we end up in these discussions about cultural touchstones, they can become pretty controversial.”^[27]

The incorporation of traditional or historical symbols is often an important element in flag design. Bruce Patterson highlights the significance of the Red Ensign within the context of Canadian flag design, "while not disparaging the current National Flag...the Red Ensign is worth considering as a part of our history, and after fifty years an acknowledgement of this is certainly not a threat to the position of the National Flag."^[20]

The flag of Manitoba is described in detail in The Provincial Flag Act, provincial legislation that has been in force from February 1, 1988.^[28] It specifies the flag is to have an aspect ratio of 2:1,^[28][29] "with the Union Jack occupying the upper quarter next the staff and with the shield of the armorial ensigns of the province centred in the half farthest from the staff."^[28] The flag's blazon – as outlined in the letters patent registering it with the Canadian Heraldic Authority on November 15, 2010 – reads, "Gules an escutcheon of the Arms of Manitoba, a canton of the Royal Union Flag proper".^[30]

The official colour scheme follows the British Admiralty Colour Code, with No. T1144 utilized for nylon worsted bunting, and No. T818A for any other bunting.^[28] This roughly corresponds to the Pantone Matching System as indicated below.^[31]

The colours and symbols of the flag carry cultural, political, and regional meanings. According to Auguste Vachon, the bison evokes the Indigenous peoples living in the province, such as the Assiniboine and the Cree. Bison was an integral part of their livelihood, serving as a source of food and clothing. The Cross of Saint George alludes to the patron saint of England, as well as to the arms of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), which ruled over the land that is now Manitoba.^[33] The Red Ensign is a conspicuous symbol of Great Britain, Canada's mother country.^[34]

In addition to the aforementioned resemblance with the flag of Ontario and the Canadian Red Ensign, the Manitoban flag bears a likeness to the flag of the HBC. The company was the only private firm ever permitted to use the modified Red Ensign in its day-to-day operations, and its flag was frequently confused with that of several Canadian provinces.^[35] Manitoba's flag is also analogous to the flag of Bermuda.^[36][37]

Advice regarding flag etiquette is the responsibility of the province's Protocol Office.^[38] When flown together with the flag of Canada and the other provincial and territorial flags, the flag of Manitoba is sixth in the order of precedence (after the national flag and, in descending order of precedence, the flags of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick).^[39] This is because it was the fifth province to enter into Confederation,^[40][41] and the first one to join after the establishment of the Dominion on July 1, 1867.^[42]

In addition to the dates set out by the federal government for flying flags at half-mast, the provincial flag is half-masted upon the death of the Lieutenant Governor or premier (either an incumbent or a previous one) and may also be flown in such a manner when an individual honoured by Manitoba dies. Moreover, the flags situated at the province's Legislative Building are lowered to half-mast upon the death of a soldier who was born or raised in Manitoba, or who was last stationed in the province before being deployed abroad.^[43]

• Coat of arms of Manitoba
• Symbols of Manitoba

• Fraser, Alistair B. (1998). "Chapter 13: Manitoba". The Flags of Canada.
• Manitoba's provincial symbols – Canadian Heritage Government of Canada