Our flag celebrates its 75th anniversary on Saturday How it

Our flag celebrates its 75th anniversary on Saturday: How it appeared

75 years ago, on January 21, 1948, the Quebec government, then led by Maurice Duplessis, granted the Fleurdelysé official flag status by decree.

On this day, the British Union Jack, which hovers atop the central tower of the Quebec Parliament, is taken down and replaced with a blue ensign crossed by a white cross with four lilies pointing toward the center.

As a matter of fact, there is no copy of the official flag that was just adopted by the Quebec Legislative Assembly (former name of the Quebec National Assembly).

We have to wait 12 days to present the sketch of our national flag with its four lilies positioned at the four corners right now.

Two years later, this ministerial decision is finally formalized by law.

  • Listen to the interview with Pierre B. Berthelot on Guillaume Lavoie’s show, broadcast live daily at 2:15 p.m. via QUB radio :

ORIGIN

What is the origin of this beautiful blue and white flag? To learn its history, let’s go back about 500 years, to the time of New France.

The lily first appeared officially in North America in 1534, when Jacques Cartier planted in Gaspé a wooden cross bearing the coat of arms of the Kingdom of France, on which three golden lilies appear. Quite a colonial gesture that will greatly displease it must be said, Chief Donnacona.

Nevertheless, the symbol of the lily will become part of our collective heritage throughout the French colonial period.

The most direct ancestor of our fleur-delysé flag that we have found is undoubtedly the military standard of the Battle of Carillon. This banner is one of the procession. It is said to have flown during the 1758 Battle of Fort Carillon in Ticonderoga, in what is now upstate New York. There the French troops of General de Montcalm and the British army of James Abercrombie met.

The French emerged victorious at the Battle of Fort Carillon in 1758.

Archival photo in the public domain from the collection of the Bibliothèque et archives nationales du Québec

The French emerged victorious at the Battle of Fort Carillon in 1758.

Obviously, after the fall of New France (1760-1763), the French flags gave way to those of the British, including the Union Jack, on which appeared the English cross of Saint George, the Scottish cross of Saint Andrew, and somewhat later, the Irish cross of Saint Patrick .

Then, at the time of the Patriot Uprisings, we see more concretely the appearance of national flags designed by the people, such as the tricolor with horizontal bands of green, white, and red.

These flags were quickly abandoned after the defeat of the patriotic nationalists in 1838.

PASTOR FILIATRAULT

At the turn of the 20th century, new flag initiatives emerged in Quebec that fundamentally changed our history.

In 1902, Elphège Filiatrault, the parish priest of Saint-Jude, designed a flag which he called the “Glockenspiel flag” and had it hoisted over the balcony of his presbytery. Its beautiful flag, inspired by the famous Carillon banner, consists of four lilies tilted towards the centre. However, Filiatraut adds a white cross on a beautiful blue background.

The following year, 1903, a Sacred Heart was placed there in the center. This version of the flag quickly became established in Quebec province territory in the early 20th century.

So much so that on November 11, 1926, the Quebec government officially recognized this symbol as that of the popular Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste. A few years later, in 1935, the Sacré-Coeur was abolished, giving the flag its remarkable name Fleurdelysé.

The modern carillon waved during a Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day parade in 1946.

Archival photo in the public domain from the collection of the Bibliothèque et archives nationales du Québec

The modern carillon waved during a Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day parade in 1946.

Maurice Duplessis

During World War II, influential and nationalist French Canadians lobbied for an all-Canadian flag to become our national flag of Quebec.

In 1946, the Quebec Legislative Assembly formally asked Ottawa to adopt a more representative ensign, but Mackenzie King’s more imperialist government categorically refused to abandon the British Red Ensign.

Proponents of a Quebec flag then redoubled their zeal to give the province its own emblem. This pressure increased in December 1947, when Assemblyman René Chaloult tabled a motion in the Quebec Legislative Assembly to invite the Union Nationale government of Maurice Duplessis to officially adopt a flag for Quebec.

The motion was to be debated after the January 1948 holiday period. Popular pressure in favor of Fleur-delysé was so strong that Prime Minister Duplessis was forced to act.

The Council of Ministers was then chaired by Maurice Duplessis.

Archival photo in the public domain from the collection of the Bibliothèque et archives nationales du Québec

The Council of Ministers was then chaired by Maurice Duplessis.

It has to be said that Duplessis is really not against the idea but rather looking for a way to appropriate the initiative of the national flag project.

In committee, we propose additions to improve the flag project. For example, it is proposed to integrate elements of the coat of arms of Quebec: a red crown symbolizing the kingdom of France or England, a lion or even a maple leaf.

Additionally, some historians believe that the idea of ​​simply straightening the lily came from the very influential canon Lionel Groulx.

21TH JANUARY

Briefly, in this regard, at around 11:00 a.m. on January 21, 1948, MP René Chaloult received a phone call from Premier Duplessis, who informed him that the Quebec flag would be flying at 3:00 p.m. that same day at the center of Parliament .

Duplessis’ office is urgently calling on the President of the Saint Jean Baptiste Society of Quebec and orders to quickly find a flag to hoist on Parliament’s main pole.

At the beginning of the afternoon, the Council of Ministers adopted Ministerial Decree No. 72 on the flag of the province of Québec.

The flag of the Province of Quebec flies over the Quebec Parliament in 1948.

Archival photo in the public domain from the collection of the Bibliothèque et archives nationales du Québec

The flag of the Province of Quebec flies over the Quebec Parliament in 1948.

If the new version of the flag is not available, the fleur-de-lysé flag with the four lilies in the center will be flown.

Maurice Duplessis then announces the news to MPs by solemnly declaring: […] It is with great pleasure that we surrender to the wishes of the population […]. This flag will be the Fleurdelysé with a slight modification. We have indeed decided, according to heraldic principles, to straighten the fleur de lis that appear at the four corners of the flag. »

Liberal and opposition leader Adelard Godbout supports the project. The chairman of the Bloc Populaire André Laurendeau and the initiator of the idea, the non-party MP René Chaloult, also welcome the decision. Chaloult even pays tribute to Prime Minister Duplessis by declaring: “This flag is an autonomist gesture by a government that defends autonomy. I thank and congratulate the government; the Prime Minister has just made a gesture worthy of Honoré Mercier. From now on, when we arrive at Parliament with our flag waving on the tower, we will feel more at ease. »

Prime Minister Duplessis, a good strategist, used the fleur-de-lysé in his election campaign, even making it “his flag”.

Immediately after its introduction, the fleur-de-lysé flag was received very positively by the citizens of Quebec, so much so that in the 1960s, with the changes brought about by the Quiet Revolution, it slowly became the fleur-de-lysé flag. Flag became the symbol of the distinctiveness of the people of Quebec and their strong desire for emancipation.

DID YOU KNOW?

Improper flag placement can result in a fine of up to $50,000?