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
Flag of Australia over whether or not the Union Flag should be removed from the canton of the Australian flag. This debate has culminated on several occasions, such as the period preceding the Australian Bicentenary in 1988, and during the Prime Ministership of Paul Keating, who publicly supported a change in the flag and said: 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. There are two lobby groups involved in the flag debate: Ausflag