Franco-Ontarian flag

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Franco-Ontarian flag
Franco-Ontarian flag.svg
Use Civil flag FIAV 100000.svg FIAV normal.svg IFIS Mirror.svg
Proportion1:2 [1]
Adopted25 September 1975 [note 1]
DesignA vertical bicolour of green and white; charged with a white fleur-de-lys centred on the green portion and a trillium centred on the white portion
Designed by Gaétan Gervais and Michel Dupuis [1]

The Franco-Ontarian flag is a symbol created to represent Franco-Ontarians, reflecting the diverse languages, seasons and people of Ontario. [2] The design consists of two bands of green and white. The left portion has a solid light green background with a white fleur-de-lys in the middle, while the right portion has a solid white background with a stylized green trillium in the middle.

Contents

The green represents the summer months, while the white represents the winter months. The trillium is the floral symbol of Ontario, while the fleur-de-lys represents the French Canadian heritage of the Franco-Ontarian community. The green colour on the flag is Pantone 349, in RGB (0,99,56).

History

The flag was created by Laurentian University professor Gaétan Gervais in conjunction with students Michel Dupuis, Donald Obonsawin and Yves Tassé, [3] and was flown for the first time at the University of Sudbury building on September 25, 1975. [3] It was officially adopted as the community's flag by the Association canadienne-française de l'Ontario in 1977. [3]

21st century

Personalized license plate with a Franco-Ontarian flag 2011 Ontario license plate 56FL12 Franco-Ontarian TANT A DECOUVRIR.png
Personalized license plate with a Franco-Ontarian flag

The Legislative Assembly of Ontario legally recognized it as the official flag of the Franco-Ontarian community with the passage of the Franco-Ontarian Emblem Act of 2001. [4] The flag was made available as a graphic on vehicle registration plates in Ontario in 2003. [5]

In 2003 a controversy arose in Sudbury when the city government voted against flying the flag at Tom Davies Square for St-Jean-Baptiste Day, claiming that it would be inappropriate for the city government to display on public property a symbol representative of only a portion of the city's population. [3] In 2006, new mayor John Rodriguez reversed that decision, permitting the flag to be flown, but was again criticized by some voters for acting unilaterally. [6]

To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Franco-Ontarian flag in September 2005, Prise de parole, a Sudbury-based publishing house, published a book titled Le Drapeau franco-ontarien (edited by Guy Gaudreau, a history professor at Laurentian University.)

The Franco-Ontarian flag alongside the flag of Ontario and the flag of Canada in Harty, 2007 Harty ON.jpg
The Franco-Ontarian flag alongside the flag of Ontario and the flag of Canada in Harty, 2007

On September 25, 2006, the largest Franco-Ontarian flag was unfurled in Ottawa. The historical park, also known as Les Monuments de la francophonie d'Ottawa, was built by the francophone community to commemorate francophone contribution in the development and well-being of the City of Ottawa. This first of six Monuments de la francophonie d'Ottawa is dedicated to the subject of education. The flag is 5 x 10 m and was raised on a 27 m pole.

In 2010, the Ontario government designated September 25 as Franco-Ontarian Day. [7] The date was chosen as it represented the anniversary of the flag.

In 2017, the Ontario Heritage Trust placed a permanent historical plaque at the University of Sudbury building to commemorate the creation of the flag. [8]

Following the controversial cutbacks to French-language services announced by the government of Doug Ford in 2018, governments in Quebec began to fly the Franco-Ontarian flag as a gesture of solidarity. The flag was hoisted at Montreal City Hall on November 23, [9] and at the National Assembly of Quebec on December 1. [10]

On September 21, 2020, Ontario Parliament passed Amendment to Franco-Ontarian Emblem Act, 2001 proposed by Progressive Conservative MPP from Mississauga Centre, Natalia Kusendova, to designate the Franco-Ontarian flag as an official emblem of Ontario. It received royal assent and became law on September 24, 2020. [11]

See also

Notes

  1. The following date was when the flag was first flown. The flag was later adopted by the Francophone Assembly of Ontario in 1977, and was officially named the flag of the Franco-Ontarian community by provincial legislation in 2001. In 2020, the Legislative Assembly of Ontario amended the Act passed in 2001, making the flag an official emblem of Ontario.

Related Research Articles

The University of Sudbury is a bilingual and tri-cultural university in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. It provides undergraduate programming in both French and English in Religious Studies, Philosophy, Indigenous Studies, and in French in Journalism and Folklore. It was a federated school of Laurentian University until May 1, 2021, when Laurentian terminated its relationships with all of its federated schools as part of the 2021 Laurentian University financial crisis; it was subsequently announced that the University of Sudbury will continue operations as an independent French-language university.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franco-Ontarians</span> Francophone resident of the Canadian province of Ontario

Franco-Ontarians are Francophone Canadians that reside in the province of Ontario. Most are French Canadians from Ontario. In 2016, the Government of Ontario calculated that there are approximately 622,415 francophones residing in the province. The majority of Franco-Ontarians in the province reside in Eastern Ontario, Northeastern Ontario, and Central Ontario, although small francophone communities may be found in other regions of the province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flag of Ontario</span> Flag of the Canadian province of Ontario

The flag of Ontario is the provincial flag of Ontario, Canada. It is a defaced Red Ensign, with the Royal Union Flag in the canton and the Ontario shield of arms in the fly. The flag of Ontario was derived from the Canadian Red Ensign, which was used as a civil ensign and as a de facto flag of Canada from the late 19th century to 1965. It was adopted in a period when many Canadian provinces adopted their own flags. May 21 is Ontario Flag Day.

Le Droit is a Canadian French-language daily newspaper, published in Gatineau, Quebec. Initially established and owned by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, the paper was published by Martin Cauchon and his company, Capitales Médias, from 2015 - ? when a cooperative was formed by the employees to continue publishing the paper.

Université de Hearst is a public French-language university with its main campus in Hearst, Ontario, Canada. The university has additional campuses in Timmins and Kapuskasing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">French language in Canada</span> Historical and sociological aspects of the French language in Canada

French is the mother tongue of approximately 7.2 million Canadians according to the 2016 Canadian Census. Most Canadian native speakers of French live in Quebec, the only province where French is the majority language and the only province in which it is the sole official language. Of Quebec's people, 71.2 percent are native francophones and 95 percent speak French as their first or second language.

La Nuit sur l'étang is a Canadian music festival, held annually in Sudbury, Ontario.

Prise de parole is a Canadian book publishing company. Located in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, the company publishes French language literature, primarily but not exclusively by Franco-Ontarian authors.

AFO, or Assemblée de la francophonie de l'Ontario is a Canadian organization which coordinates the political and cultural activities of the Franco-Ontarian community.

<i>French Language Services Act</i> Ontario, Canada statute

The French Language Services Act is a law in the province of Ontario, Canada which is intended to protect the rights of Franco-Ontarians, or French-speaking people, in the province.

The Francophone Association of Municipalities of Ontario is a Canadian political organization of municipalities in the province of Ontario which have significant Franco-Ontarian communities. The organization oversees the maintenance and development of municipal government services in French, and works with other levels of government, as well as organizations in other Canadian provinces, on issues unique to francophone and bilingual communities.

Ontario is a province of Canada that has established several official emblems and symbols to reflect the province's history, natural resources, and its people. In addition to official symbols, several other emblems and symbols exist that are commonly associated with the province.

<i>Météo+</i> Canadian TV series or program

Météo+ is a Canadian television sitcom which aired on TFO, the French language public broadcaster in Ontario, from February 14, 2008 to April 28, 2011. The series is about the colourful crew of Météo+, a fictional francophone weather channel for the Northeastern Ontario region based in Sudbury.

Association of Colleges and Universities of the Canadian Francophonie promotes community college and university education in minority francophone communities in Canada, through cooperation between its member institutions. In the community it serves, each member institution plays a crucial role in cultural, social and economic development. The Association represents its member institutions on topics of mutual interest before the Government of Canada, national and international organizations. Up until 1 April 2015, the organisation was known as the Association of Universities of the Canadian Francophonie, or in French, Association des universités de la francophonie canadienne (AUFC), when it did not include community college members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fernand Dorais</span>

Fernand Dorais was a Canadian writer, Jesuit priest and academic. A professor of French literature and translation at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario from 1969 to 1993, he was noted for his work as a key builder of Franco-Ontarian cultural identity, through both his academic research and his role in the development of many of the Franco-Ontarian community's contemporary cultural institutions.

Gaétan Gervais was a Canadian author, historian and university professor, most noted as a prominent figure in Franco-Ontarian culture. With a group of university students at Laurentian University, he designed the Franco-Ontarian flag, and was a founding member of the Franco-Ontarian Institute.

S.O.S. Montfort was a Franco-Ontarian movement that fought to save Montfort Hospital, the only primarily francophone hospital in Ontario, after the Mike Harris government announced it would be shutting down the hospital in 1997. One of the largest mass movements in Franco-Ontarian history, the level of mobilisation it saw and the ultimate success of the campaign has been noted as a significant moment in the struggle for French-language rights in Ontario and in the wider Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Franco-Ontarian Black Thursday</span>

The 2018 Franco-Ontarian Black Thursday occurred on 15 November 2018, when the government of Ontario, led by Doug Ford, announced a number of cuts to Franco-Ontarian institutions in the province, notably the elimination of the office of the French Language Services Commissioner and of the soon-to-be-opened Université de l'Ontario français. The cuts provoked a significant backlash from the Franco-Ontarian community, leading to the largest mass mobilisations in Franco-Ontarian history, surpassing those of SOS Montfort two decades earlier, and leading to the government of Ontario mostly backing down from the cuts.

Nous Sommes, Nous Serons is a slogan often used by the Franco-Ontarian community in Canada. Signifying that the Franco-Ontarian community has long existed in Ontario, continues to exist, and will exist in the future, it has especially been used as a symbol of resistance against attempts to suppress the French language in Ontario.

The Summit on the Rapprochement of Canadian Francophonies is a summit between the different francophone communities in Canada in June 2021.

References

  1. 1 2 "Franco-Ontarian Flag". Encyclopedia of French Cultural Heritage in North America. Department of Canadian Heritage. 2017.
  2. "Franco-Ontarian Flag | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". www.ola.org. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Franco-Ontarian Flag". The Canadian Encyclopedia , August 21, 2013.
  4. Franco-Ontarian Emblem Act of 2001.
  5. "Franco-Ontarian License Plate Launched". Queen's Printer for Ontario. 11 June 2009. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  6. "Mayor drives home agenda for next 100 days Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine , Northern Life , December 7, 2006.
  7. "September 25 Is Now Franco-Ontarian Day". Government of Ontario. April 26, 2010. Archived from the original on November 14, 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-25.
  8. "Provincial plaque commemorates the Franco-Ontarian Flag". Canada NewsWire , September 25, 2017.
  9. "Franco-Ontarian flag flies over Montreal city hall as Ford softens stance on French services". CTV Montreal, November 23, 2018.
  10. "Franco-Ontarian flag to fly outside Quebec National Assembly". Montreal Gazette , November 30, 2018.
  11. "Bill 182, Franco-Ontarian Emblem Amendment Act, 2020". Government of Ontario. September 24, 2020.