ADAMS: Ontario deserves a flag that represents us today

Here's a thought experiment for Canada Day: Walk down any busy street in the Greater Toronto Area, stop ten people, and ask them to describe Ontario's flag. Then ask them to describe the flag of Manitoba. I'd wager good money that most couldn't tell you the difference, and that's not because they're uninformed. It's because our provincial flag is a visual punchline waiting to happen.

Ontario's flag is a Red Ensign, adopted in 1965, not because it represented anything particularly Ontarian, but because Premier John Robarts and his PC government were furious about the Maple Leaf replacing the Canadian Red Ensign as our national flag. One Liberal MPP called it what it was: a "flag of revenge." The legislature passed it 106 to 2. A hundred and six politicians, mostly voting out of spite.

Yes, the Red Ensign flew over Canadian troops who fought the Nazis. That deserves respect. But Manitoba also has that flag. The only difference? Ontario's shield has three gold maple leaves; Manitoba's has a bison. That's it. That's the entire distinction between two of our largest provinces.

Western University professor Mano Majumdar launched a petition in 2021 arguing the flag is a relic of colonialism that fails to represent Ontario's diversity. Historians have correctly pointed out that symbols should evolve with the communities they represent. "The world belongs to the living," one professor put it.

The world of the 1960s, when this flag was rushed through as a middle finger to Mike Pearson, is gone. The British Empire doesn't exist, and Ontario as we know it today is a place of incredible cultural diversity, economic dynamism and natural beauty that has nothing to do with a naval ensign from over century ago.

Yet somehow, the small contingent of people who treat this flag like sacred scripture have successfully cowed our political class into silence. They're amplified by a right-wing establishment and another PC government that has convinced itself that any change to symbols is an assault on heritage.

It's the same tired playbook we saw during the flag debate itself, as well as with countless other social issues in our time: a vocal minority demands total preservation while offering nothing in return.

Here's the thing about chasing the approval of people who will never be satisfied: you compromise integrity and quality for a constituency that always demands more concessions. There is no compromise position on the flag for these folks. They want the Red Ensign (which ties us closely to a different country and world) as our national flag, full stop. They won't meet you halfway because they don't have to.

So why not change it?

Why not run on something that actually represents Ontario? Our province is home to the Canadian Shield, the Great Lakes, The CN tower, the most diverse population in the country, and the economic engine of Confederation. We have the boreal forest and the Parliament buildings, the St. Lawrence and the nickel mines of Sudbury. We have more to draw from than a colonial relic that most voters couldn't pick out of a lineup.

The Ontario Liberals, New Democrats, or the Greens should have the courage to put this on the table. Yes, there would be noise. There would be editorials from PostMedia about erasing history and disgracing veterans. The usual suspects would have their feelings hurt. But here's the thing: that contingent is maybe 1,000 people amplified by party machinery and media ecosystems that thrive on manufactured outrage. The majority of Ontarians simply don't care enough about a flag they can't even distinguish from Manitoba's.

Today we celebrate the best country on Earth; one that has continually reinvented itself, that shed its colonial symbols for the Maple Leaf precisely because the old world no longer represented us. Ontario should do the same. It's time to show the country that we respect ourselves enough to design a symbol that actually looks like our future.

This piece was written by an individual contributor and reflects the editorial position of The Provincial Times. Read our Content Policy here.