Great Canadian Flag Debate submitted: many contained common elements: At the last minute, Matheson slipped a flag designed by historian George Stanley into the mix. The idea came to him while standing in front of the Mackenzie Building of the Royal Military College of Canada, while viewing the college flag flying in the wind. Stanley submitted a March 23, 1964 formal detailed memorandum to John Matheson on the history of Canada's emblems, predating Pearson's raising the issue, in which he warned that any new flag "must avoid the use of national or racial symbols that are of a divisive nature" and that it would
Great Canadian Flag Debate of Canadian Legionnaires and told them that the time had come to replace the Canadian Red Ensign with a distinctive maple leaf flag. The Royal Canadian Legion and the Canadian Corps Association wanted to make sure that the new flag would include the Union Flag as a sign of Canadian ties to the United Kingdom and to other Commonwealth countries, such as Australia and New Zealand, that use the Union Flag in the quarter of their national flag. Lester Pearson's preferred choice for a new flag was nicknamed "the Pearson Pennant". Pearson’s first design featured the three maple leaves on