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Manitoba flag called outdated, a ‘relic’

NDP grassroots members want new one

By: Steve Lambert

Posted: 02/26/2009 7:01 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

SOME grassroots members of Manitoba’s governing New Democrats want the province to adopt a new flag, saying the current one, as well as that of Ontario, is an archaic symbol of British rule.

Manitoba’s flag "is outdated and a relic from the days of our former British colonial heritage", reads a resolution by the NDP’s Riel constituency association in south Winnipeg. The resolution is on the agenda of the provincial party’s annual convention next month.

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"Manitoba’s flag is often confused with Ontario’s flag, with the only difference being a bison... instead of three maple leaves."

Both provinces’ flags are similar to the Red Ensign that Canada used as a national flag prior to adopting the maple leaf design in 1965.

There is a red background, a Union Jack in the upper left corner, and a provincial symbol toward the bottom right corner. The Manitoba symbol contains a bison. Ontario’s features a clutch of maple leaves.

"We’ve moved beyond our history of being part of a British dominion and I think we’re bigger and better than that.," Sean Robert, the man pushing the proposal, said Wednesday.

It’s not the first time Manitoba and Ontario have been accused of needing a pennant makeover.

In 2001, a U.S.-based volunteer group of flag enthusiasts called the North American Vexillological Association ranked the flags of 72 states, provinces, territories and districts. Ontario and Manitoba placed 43rd and 44th respectively.

The group praised those with simple designs such as Quebec’s Fleur-de-lis, which ranked third on the continent behind Texas and New Mexico.

Robert, a liquor commission employee who ran unsuccessfully for the federal NDP last year in Winnipeg South, is proposing the government hold a provincewide public contest to develop a more modern flag.

"I’m no artist and I wouldn’t have the first idea as to what to put forward, but I’m sure that there are a lot of creative minds out there who would jump at the chance to design something new."

But any change is likely to be an uphill battle.

Manitoba’s opposition Progressive Conservatives say the current flag is an important symbol of the province’s roots.

"I think it is good as is," Tory Leader Hugh McFadyen said.

"It reflects some important aspects of Manitoba’s history. Certainly many of our traditions came here as a result of the British democratic parliamentary system. There’s also a reflection with the bison in the flag of the important role that ... Manitoba’s natural wildlife played with our First Nations and Metis people."

Premier Gary Doer did not comment. A spokesman for the premier says Doer attends conventions to listen to debates and "not prejudge what (the) convention may or may not pass."

— The Canadian Press

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