On today’s date in 1964, the “Great Canadian Flag Debate” ended by closure resulting in the adoption of the maple leaf flag as Canada’s national flag.
After about 250 speeches, the final vote to adopt the maple leaf flag took place at 2:15 a.m. on Dec. 15, 1964.
On Jan. 28, 1965, Queen Elizabeth II proclaimed the new flag. It was inaugurated on Feb. 15 of the same year at an official ceremony held on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
Last year, to mark the flag’s 50th anniversary, the Royal Canadian Mint issued a series of commemorative and circulating coins, the most recent of which is a 25-cent piece designed by Bonnie Ross. The reverse of this 25-cent circulation coin features an illustration of Canada’s national flag surrounded by 50 children, each of whom represent one of the flag’s 50 years, as well as Canada’s future. The words “50 years/ans” also appear at the bottom centre of the design.
Out of a total of mintage of 12.5 million coins, 6.25 million were coloured and an equal number were non-coloured. They began circulating nationally as of June 9.