Great Canadian Flag Debate the prime minister, the members of the Cabinet, and Canadian parliamentarians. Also throughout Canada, at the United Nations in New York City, and at Canadian legations and on Canadian ships throughout the world, the Canadian Red Ensign was lowered and the Maple Leaf flag was raised. As journalist George Bain wrote of the occasion, the flag "looked bold and clean, and distinctively our own." Attachment to the old Canadian Red Ensign has persisted among many people, especially veterans. In 1967, the Canadian Government first used the Canadian Coat of Arms (whose shield was used on the Red Ensign) on a
Flag of Canada prime minister, declined to act on the report, leaving the order to fly the Canadian Red Ensign in place. By the 1960s, debate for an official Canadian flag intensified and became a subject of controversy, culminating in the Great Flag Debate of 1964. In 1963, the minority Liberal government of Lester B. Pearson gained power and decided to adopt an official Canadian flag through parliamentary debate. The principal political proponent of the change was Pearson. He had been a significant broker during the Suez Crisis of 1956, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. During the crisis, Pearson