Flag of the Governor General of Canada

The Flag of the Governor General of Canada was adopted in 1981. It features Canada's royal crest: a crowned lion holding a red maple leaf in its paw, standing on a wreath of the official colours of Canada (red and white), on a blue background. The flag differs from the flags of Governors-General in the other Commonwealth Realms (besides the United Kingdom), in that the flag does not feature the country's name, and the inclusion of the maple leaf and wreath as national symbols. Prior to 1981, the Canadian Governor General's flag was similar to the other realm governors': the lion crest (the royal crest of the United Kingdom), with the name of the country below being the only national marker.

The flag takes precedence over the National Flag, but not over the Royal Standard, or the flag of a Lieutenant Governor of a province at the Lieutenant Governor's residence, or on occasion when the Lieutenant Governor is performing his duties as the Queen's representative in the province.

The flag is flown from the Governor General's official residences, Rideau Hall and La Citadelle, and any other building the Governor General is visiting. The flag may also be flown from the Governor General's car. On overseas visits, the National Flag is used as a more recognizable Canadian symbol.

Previous Governor General flags

The first Governor General's flag was adopted in 1901 and followed the design of other vice-regal flags in use throughout the British Empire: a Union Flag defaced with the Coat of Arms of Canada. The design was updated in 1921, when the coat of arms changed to the current design. In 1931, the Flag of the Governor General was changed to reflect the Balfour Declaration of 1926 whereby the Governor General was now the representative of the Monarch of the Dominion of Canada, rather than a representative of the British Monarch in Canada, as it was previously. The 1931 design remains the basic design of Governor General flags in the other Commonwealth realms.

Legal

The Standard/flag is protected under the "Trade-marks Act". Section 9(c) "Prohibited Marks" states:

Roméo LeBlanc

During the period while Roméo LeBlanc was Governor General of Canada, he asked that the standard of the Governor General be modified to be more "Canadian."

The Canadian newspaper, the "National Post", reported on Monday, August 16, 1999, that a revised flag has been introduced for Canada's Governor General. The revision was to the lion emblem in the flag. Governor General Roméo LeBlanc did not like the attitude of the lion used previously, which was deemed to be regardant and poking its tongue at observers. It was now deprived of its claws and has its tongue politely hidden in its mouth. The change was introduced gradually and quietly. [ [http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/ca-govg.html Governor General of Canada] ]

ee also

* Flags of the Lieutenant Governors of Canada
* List of Canadian flags
* Canadian royal symbols
* National symbols of Canada

External links

* [http://www.gg.ca/heraldry/emblems_e.asp Governor General's homepage]

References