The flag of Prince Edward Island consists of a golden lion passant on a red field in the upper portion and a white field charged with three oak saplings and a large oak tree on a green island in the bottom portion. This is bordered on three edges other than the hoist by a fimbriation of alternating red and white rectangles. Adopted in 1964 in the run-up to the Canadian Centennial, it has been the flag of the province since March 24 of that year. It is a banner of arms modelled after the province's coat of arms. When flown with the flags of other Canadian provinces and the national flag, it is eighth in the order of precedence.
History
thumb|left|Flag of Prince Edward Island.
The French first settled in modern-day Prince Edward Island during the 1720s and named it Île Saint-Jean. The Treaty of Paris of 1763 saw France permanently relinquish the island to the United Kingdom. It was consequently placed under the administration of the Colony of Nova Scotia and its name was anglicized to St. John’s Island. The territory became a separate colony in 1769, and was accorded its own seal on July 14 of that same year. It featured an oak tree with three adjacent smaller trees. The island was renamed in 1799 to honour Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, who was the commander of the British forces in North America and garrisoned in nearby Halifax at the time. Although the island was consequently dubbed the "Cradle of Confederation", The shield was derived from the Great Seal of 1769, with the addition of a gold lion on a red chief.
Design
Description
The flag of Prince Edward Island is described in detail in the Provincial Flag Act, provincial legislation that has been in force from March 24, 1964. The blazon for the arms – as outlined in the letters patent registering it with the Canadian Heraldic Authority (CHA) on July 15, 2011 – reads, "Argent on an island Vert, to the sinister an oak tree fructed, to the dexter thereof three oak saplings sprouting all proper, on a chief Gules a lion passant guardant Or". For a flag, the fimbriation of alternating red and white bands consists of rectangles measuring in length and in height.
Design variations
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File:Flag of Prince Edward Island (1-2).svg|Common variant flag with an incorrect 1:2 size
File:Official Flag of Prince Edward Island.svg|Variant flag
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Symbolism
The colours and symbols of the flag carry cultural, political, and regional meanings. According to vexillologist Whitney Smith, the gold lion in the upper part of the flag – corresponding to the one on the Royal Arms of England The large oak tree on the right symbolizes England, while the three oak saplings on the left epitomize the three counties that constitute the province (namely Kings County, Queens County, and Prince County). The three oak saplings are therefore interpreted in Complete Flags of the World by DK as the "descendants" of the British oak tree and are guarded by the British lion.
The oak tree on Prince Edward Island's coat of arms (and by extension, its flag) is surmised to be Quercus rubra (red oak). This was adopted as the provincial tree in 1987. However, it has not been officially identified as such with regard to the arms.
Protocol
Advice regarding flag etiquette is the responsibility of the province's Office of Protocol, specifically the Chief of Protocol. This is because it was the seventh province to enter into Confederation. Within Prince Edward Island, the provincial flag is third in the order of precedence, after the personal standard of a member of the Royal Family, the Governor General, or the province's Lieutenant Governor, as well as the national flag.