Is Manitoba's 150th a chance to redo province's flag?
High school student takes up perennial debate over a flag experts say is a good example of bad design
Manitoba's flag lacks distinction, is hard to recognize and isn't inclusive, and the province's 150th anniversary is a good time to create a new one that better represents who we are, a Selkirk high school student says.
"It's quite Anglo-centric and it kind of ignores the roles that Indigenous people have played in the founding of this province," as well as the role of Manitoba's French community, Connor Macfarlane said from his home in East Selkirk.
"It's not the most inclusive flag in the world."
And Macfarlane has the backing of experts — the Manitoba flag has actually been held up as a textbook-worthy example of poor design.
Macfarlane, 16, is passionate about languages of the world and vexillology, or the study of flags — he even tried to start a flag appreciation club at his school, although it was short-lived because none of his peers shared his enthusiasm.
But his enthusiasm doesn't extend to all flags.
A couple of weeks ago, the Grade 11 student detailed his concerns about Manitoba's flag in a letter to the editor of the Winnipeg Free Press that he wrote as part of an assignment for his global issues class.
Macfarlane says the flag, which was proclaimed in 1966, is stylistically indistinct and hard to recognize.
Manitoba's flag has a Union Jack — the official flag of the United Kingdom — in the top left corner, and on the right, the Red Ensign above the provincial coat of arms, which has a bison at the centre of a green backdrop.
In the era of reconciliation, Macfarlane considers the British Union Jack and Red Ensign — previously used as Canada's national flag — to be colonial symbols of the past that are "un-Manitoban."
Experts have long said the flag is poorly designed.
Watch Macfarlane explain why he thinks Manitoba's flag falls flat:
A group of 20 experts from the North American Vexillological Association graded all 72 North American provincial, state and territorial flags as part of a NAVA flag survey in 2001.
Manitoba came in 44th place, the worst ranking of all provincial flags. The province's flag is criticized for bearing a close resemblance to Ontario's, which placed 43rd.
"It has time and time again been rated as one of the worst flags in Canada, and Ontario being almost identical to Manitoba is right in the same category," said Shayne Campbell, a teacher in Teulon, Man.
Campbell started collecting flags when he was 11 and founded a museum in Argyle, Man., that holds a collection of 1,500 flags — the second most of any museum in Canada.
Ted Kaye, secretary of the North American Vexillological Association, featured Manitoba's flag as one of a handful of examples of poor designs around the world in his book, Good Flag, Bag Flag.
Kaye said while the Red Ensign suggests a connection to the Commonwealth, the distinguishing feature on the flag is the small coat of arms and bison symbol, and that should have been the focal point.
When Kaye and NAVA published the 2001 survey results online and issued press releases, they were met with pushback.
"You're probably asking yourself what a vexillologist is. I know I did. Apparently it's a bunch of morons that fancy themselves as flag experts," a Winnipeg Sun columnist wrote at the time, Kaye said in a piece about the response.
The ranking didn't resonate at the Manitoba Legislature, either.
"I'll match our flag up against any of the other provinces," Kaye quoted then-Manitoba transportation minister Steve Ashton saying in 2001. "I think most Manitobans like the flag the way it is."
The provincial flag was proclaimed May 12, 1966, but it was first approved by the Manitoba Legislative Assembly when a bill passed on May 11, 1965.
That bill passed just months after the federal government officially brought in the current Maple Leaf, turfing the Canadian Red Ensign, which similarly featured the Union Jack on the top left and the Canadian coat of arms on the right.
"The Manitoba flag was seen as a way to preserve the rich heritage that many felt was lost after the Maple Leaf flag replaced the Canadian Red Ensign, on Feb. 15, 1965," a provincial spokesperson said.
The Manitoba coat of arms is based on the Great Seal of Manitoba, which was designed in 1870. The bison represents First Nations and Métis people who lived off the animals, and the red Cross of St. George that sits above is the traditional flag of England and part of the emblem of the Hudson's Bay Company, which helped colonize and then govern the territory where Manitoba was established, a provincial spokesperson said.
Macfarlane doesn't that buy that explanation. The bison on the coat of arms was created in 1870 to represent the plains and wasn't originally intended to signify its importance to First Nation or Metis people, he said.
"This is kind of a line made up by the provincial government to make their flag seem more inclusive when in reality it's not," he said.
A provincial spokesperson said there are no plans to change it as part of Manitoba's 150th anniversary.
Even if the provincial government were interested in revamping the flag, it likely would stir debate that might not end well for them, Campbell said.
"The great flag debate" of 1965 over what is now the Canadian flag was one of the most hotly debated topics in the history of the federal government, he said. It went on for months.
"If they know their history, they're going to keep their hands off of a flag if they can — it can bring a government down."
He and Macfarlane both like the idea of a stripped-down flag focused solely on the bison.
"Canada has become so independent from Britain and really, there's no reason to keep on having British symbolism on our flag," Macfarlane said.
"It really does not represent our entire history.… It just isn't doing a very good job of that."