Great Canadian Flag Debate on December 15, 1964. It resulted in the adoption of the "Maple Leaf" as the Canadian national flag. The flag was inaugurated on February 15, 1965, and since 1996, February 15 has been commemorated as National Flag of Canada Day. For much of its post-Confederation history, Canada used both the Royal Union Flag (Union Jack) as its national flag, and the Canadian Red Ensign as a popularly recognized and distinctive Canadian flag. The first Canadian Red Ensigns were used in Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald's time. The Governor General at the time of Macdonald's death, Lord Stanley, wrote to
Australian flag debate the flag." The prime minister, Bob Hawke, subsequently announced in the House of Representatives that the design of the Australian flag would not be reviewed by the Australian government before or during the bicentenary year. Paul Keating publicly championed the cause of a new flag during his term as prime minister, including on a state visit to Indonesia. He was quoted as saying: I do not believe that the symbols and the expression of the full sovereignty of Australian nationhood can ever be complete while we have a flag with the flag of another country on the corner of it.