Hon. Andrew Cardozo: Colleagues, I’m honoured today at this great hour to launch an inquiry on the importance of the Canadian flag and consider what the Canadian flag means to us as Canadians.

The timing of this debate is scheduled with Flag Day in mind, which is coming up in 10 days, on February 15. I am delighted to invite you, colleagues, to present your thoughts on this matter today and in the days ahead.

Coincidentally, this inquiry comes at the time when the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics are underway, with the formal opening ceremony taking place tomorrow.

Also, in the weeks ahead, Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen will be part of NASA’s Artemis II mission to land on the moon. He will become the first Canadian to walk on the moon.

These, indeed, are flag-waving occasions.

So what is Flag Day? This day marks the sixty-first anniversary of the red-and-white maple leaf flag, which became our official flag on February 15, 1965, when the first flag was raised on the Peace Tower of Centre Block.

Interestingly, this followed a donnybrook of a political debate, initiated by then-prime minister Lester B. Pearson with the proposal for a new flag and opposed vociferously by then-Progressive Conservative leader and former prime minister John Diefenbaker.

It is because a flag means so much to citizens that changing it is a deeply passionate matter.

What is notable about that whole initiative is that at the end of the debate, Diefenbaker went with Pearson to London, to Buckingham Palace, in December 1964, when Queen Elizabeth gave Royal Assent to the new flag.

It was a time when opposing parties could have passionate and even raucous debates, but, at the end of the day, they accepted and supported the outcome.

[Translation]

We fly the flag for various reasons. However, at a time when our sovereignty is under threat, it is our way of showing our pride. Whether we wave the flag vigorously or simply wear it discreetly on our lapel, it is our way of saying, “I am Canadian, I believe in this country, I’m proud to be Canadian and proud to call Canada my homeland.”

[English]

As parliamentarians, many of us have the great privilege to represent Canada in international conferences and summits. The Canadian flag and our Canadian citizenship are matters of considerable pride.

Regardless of who we are meeting, I always find it great fun to hand out maple leaf flag pins. In a crowd of parliamentarians from any country, people will jostle to get one. At times, giving someone a Canadian flag pin is a great show of friendship and conversation starter — a conversation that is always friendly and positive.

As an aside, let me add that one of the fun things about such conversations is that our counterparts from anywhere else in the world will be anxious to tell us that they have relatives in Canada. This too is what our flag stands for.

Colleagues, I would suggest to you that with the geopolitics around the globe these days, as the globe turns nasty, aggressive and uncaring, our pride in our flag is of greater importance than ever before.

Our flag says a lot. We are not a superpower intent on expanding territories. We are not interested in displaying unnecessary aggression toward others. We are not interfering in the affairs of other countries so as to destabilize them, expand our powers in those nations surreptitiously or damage their economies.

We do not invade other nations. We are Canadian, which means we believe in the right of all countries to exist. We believe in healthy multilateralism, helping international development, the international rule of law, fair trade and respect, yet we can say clearly when we disagree or need to press other countries to be fair and just.

That is what wearing the Canadian flag means. It is a statement of many things: who we are, what we stand for and why our friendship is important, whether it is with other people or other nations.

It also means that we are a country that is introspective — that we look inward at our positives and negatives and constantly try to improve our country for all Canadians, sometimes with success and sometimes not so much.

Colleagues, you will know that to mark Flag Day last year, in 2025, through the Artwork and Heritage Advisory Working Group of the Senate and with the support of Speaker Gagné, we installed the wall of provincial and territorial flags in the foyer of this building.

This is the first time that we have a permanent installation of full-size flags of all the provinces and territories in the Senate of Canada, be it in this building or back in the day in Centre Block. These flags build on the emblems that exist in this chamber and the original doors of the Senate Chamber.

These flags remind us that our work in the Senate is relevant to all provinces and territories. Honourable senators, let me quote from some of our former prime ministers.

It was 61 years ago, on February 15, 1965, when former prime minister Lester B. Pearson, the visionary behind this flag, inaugurated this great symbol. Let me share what he said:

May the land over which this new flag flies remain united in freedom and justice; a land of decent God-fearing people; fair and generous in all its dealings; sensitive, tolerant and compassionate towards all . . . industrious, energetic, resolute; wise, and just in the giving of security and opportunity equally to all its cultures; and strong in its adherence to those moral principles which are the only sure guide to greatness.

Colleagues, two days ago, at the ceremony of the unveiling of former prime minister Stephen Harper’s official portrait on Parliament Hill — an event I was honoured to attend, as many of you were — Mr. Harper said the following:

We must preserve Canada, this country handed down to us by providence, preserved by our ancestors and held in trust for our descendants. We must make any sacrifice necessary to preserve the independence and the unity of this blessed land . . . .

In closing, let me quote from a letter issued a year ago by the five living former prime ministers at the time — Joe Clark, Kim Campbell, Jean Chrétien, Paul Martin and Stephen Harper — in marking the sixtieth anniversary of the flag:

In recent weeks, we’ve witnessed a surge of Canadian pride and patriotism. In the face of threats and insults . . . Canadians have come together to express their love for our country and their determination to defend Canada’s values and our independence.

[Translation]

The letter also stated, “As former prime ministers of Canada, we applaud this national spirit.”

The former prime ministers urged fellow Canadians to proudly fly the flag “. . . as never before” on National Flag of Canada Day. The joint statement also said, “Let’s show the world that we are proud of our history and proud of our country.”

[English]

The five of us come from different parties. We’ve had our share of battles in the past. But we all agree on one thing: Canada, the true north, strong and free, the best country in the world, is worth celebrating and fighting for. . . .

Their sentiments are as relevant today as they were last year. Thank you.