Volume 23, 2016
Hugh L. Brady
Pages 19-54
“But It Was Ours”
The Red Ensign, Dominion Day, and the Effects of Patriotic Memory on the Canadian Flag Debate
This paper examines the creation of patriotic memories of Canadian flags—in particular, the Canadian Red Ensign—among British Canadians through the lens of Dominion Day, challenging the legalistic view of flag adoption in favor of a vernacular view that national flags may be created, adopted, and sanctioned by those using a flag for that purpose and that flag is as much a national flag as any adopted by statute or regulation.