The Flag Master & the Maple Leaf

Peace Tower flags are changed frequently, then gifted to Canadians.

Click image to read the 2020 news story.

Back in 1965, Canada adopted a controversial new flag - the red and white maple leaf. A seven-minute CBC report, produced in 2015 for the flag’s 50th anniversary, examines some of that history. You can watch it here.

Below is a 4-minute video about Parliament Hill’s official flag master. Each working day, Robert Labonté lowers the Peace Tower flag and replaces it with a new one. It’s a 30-minute process during which he climbs 141 stairs.

Since the 1990s, Canadian residents have been able to request one of these flags by adding their name to a list. About 250 become available each year, and a government website currently says the “waiting period for both Peace Tower and other Parliament Hill flags exceeds 100 years.”

In late 2020, CBC ran a news story about a military veteran who received one 14 years after submitting his name. You can read about that here.

These flags aren’t just scarce, they’re also massive - measuring 15 feet by 7 feet (4.6 x 2.3 meters). One of them was donated to the Freedom Convoy by a person who’d added his name to the list back in 2004. I’ve tracked down that gentleman and look forward to telling you about him soon :-)