Last modified: 2017-05-13 by rob raeside
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Unofficial flag, 1873-1892
image by Clay Moss, 17 September 2014
See also:
original text by Dean Tiegs - 21 December 1997, additions inserted at appropriate places.
Some information from "The Flags of Canada - chapter IV - the Canadian Ensigns" by Alistair B. Fraser.
Confederation of British Columbia. B.C. initially
used an unofficial symbol: the royal crest (a crowned lion standing on a
crown) with the motto "splendor sine occasu." Sometimes this was
flanked by laurel or laurel and oak, and sometimes the letters B and C were to
the left and right.
Dean Tiegs - 21 December 1997
According to Fraser, an
ensign with a six provinces great seal was never in use. Probably by the time
the symbol for BC became settled, the Confederation of Prince
Edward Island was already scheduled and manufacturers jumped from a
5-province shield directly to a 7-province one.
Herman De Wael, 20 October 1998
image by Clay Moss, 20 October 2014
Confederation of Prince Edward Island. It
continued to use the seal design it had used since 1769. Very similar to the
present coat of arms, except that the motto "parva sub ingenti" was
an integral part of the design and the chief with lion was missing.
Dean Tiegs, 21 December 1997
According to Fraser, flags
with 7-provincial seals began to appear in late 1874. A beaver was added, and
the seal was placed on a white roundel. Earlier ensign seldom and later
ensigns never had a white roundel.
Herman De Wael, 20 October 1998
image by Clay Moss, 17 September 2014
Based on the surviving
seven-province (and indeed five-province—ON, QC, NB, NS, MB) ensigns that I have
seen, the maple leaf wreath was green and the beaver brown (i.e., heraldically
“proper”).
Michael Halleran, 14
September 2014
The Prince Edward Island badge according to Admiralty and Colonial Office
papers, was not approved for use on a flag until 1878. There was a design,
with a slightly off-centre crown between the two trees, that made it into
print, but probably not into cloth. There was also a suggestion that the
garland on the Lt. Govs. version of the flag, should be rose leaves with pink
roses, but that was rejected.
D Prothero, 31 December 1997
image located by Bill Garrison, 3 April 2017
This flag shows the beaver intertwined with the Maple leaves along the bottom of
the crest; usually the beaver is depicted alone. This flag came from a strip of
bunting used in Winnipeg in 1885 to welcome the return of the troops from the
1885 Riel Rebellion. It measures 16 by 28 inches.
Bill Garrison, 3
April 2017
image by Clay Moss, 20 October 2014
The blue ensign of 1873, if it did exist.
Clay Moss, 20 October 2014
Seven province blue ensigns did exist, as I recall, from a visit there about 40
years ago, the Glenbow Museum in Calgary has one that was given along with a
uniform and medal to the chiefs of First Nations that signed treaties with the
Dominion government and there is a large one in Toronto connected with the yacht
club dating from the time when the Commander G. G. Spain of the the Department
of Marine and Fisheries fisheries protection fleet (which ultimately became both
the Canadian Coast Guard and Naval Service of Canada – later RCN) was also
commodore of the yacht club.
Michael Halleran, 21 October 2014
First request to the British Admiralty for official permission for merchant
vessels to wear the Canadian Red Ensign. The request is accepted at first (?)
but rejected in 1875.
Dean Tiegs, 21 December 1997