The provincial flag of Saskatchewan was adopted in 1969. Its upper half is green and contains the coat of arms of Saskatchewan, and its lower half is yellow. In the fly of the flag is a western red lily, the provincial flower.

In 2017, The Minister of Parks, Culture and Sports designated 22 September as Saskatchewan Flag Day.

Design

The flag is blazoned: Per fess vert and or, in the fly a prairie lily slipped and leaved proper, in the dexter chief an escutcheon of the coat of arms of Saskatchewan fimbriated argent.

The green upper half represents the province's forested north, while the yellow represents the grain fields found in the south. The red prairie lily is the provincial flower of Saskatchewan.

History

thumb|The Saskatchewan 60th anniversary flagThe idea for a provincial flag was first advanced in December 1963 by Albert Watson, the executive director of the Saskatchewan Jubilee and Centennial Corporation. Mindful of the sensitivities surrounding the national flag debate, he expressed his hope that a provincial flag could be designed by 1965 as part of the province's commemorations. An open contest was announced by the government the following May. A prize of $500 was offered to the winning design, which had to incorporate the colours of the province's coat of arms. On 17 December 1964, it was revealed that Sister Imelda of St. Angela's Convent of Prelate designed the winning flag, being selected from 241 other entries. By the December announcement, the flag was being referred to as a jubilee flag and was first hoisted on 31 January 1965.

The flag was blazoned per fess gules and vert, in the fly an escutcheon of the Arms of Saskatchewan fimbriated or, in the hoist a stalk of wheat or. The red in the top half symbolizes the fires that used to rage through the prairies in the years before cultivation, the green represents the luxuriant growth, and the gold representing the ripening the wheat fields. The use of this flag extended beyond 1965 into the 1967 Canadian Centennial celebrations, and it was widely flown, as if it were the provincial flag. The flag's sponsors hoped it would officially declared the province's flag. However, it did not gain greater public acceptance and another contest was held for a provincial flag.

The official flag of Saskatchewan was adopted on 22 September 1969, the result of a province-wide competition that drew over 4,000 entries. The winning entry was one of the 13 designed by Anthony Drake of Hodgeville, Saskatchewan. Drake came and left Saskatchewan from the United Kingdom and did not have an opportunity to see his winning design fly until returning to Hodgeville. Saskatchewan politician Percy Schmeiser was on the flag committee in 1969 during his time as member of the Legislative Assembly and was at the inaugural flag raising ceremony, unlike Anthony Drake. The two finally met when Drake returned in 2019.

Other flags

Fransaskois flag

thumb|Flag of the Fransaskois

This flag used to represent the heritage of the French speakers of Saskatchewan and is blazoned Or a cross enhanced throughout vert, its vertical beam to the hoist, in the fly a fleur-de-lis gules its traverse vert.

The symbolism within the Fransaskois flag is mostly the same as the provincial flag with the yellow and green representing the wheat and the forests respectively. However, with the addition of the cross alluding to the role that the Catholic Church and the many missionaries had in settling what is now the province of Saskatchewan and the fleur-de-lis which represents the Francophone population globally; it is coloured red to show the fighting courage in the battle of preserving the rights of their culture and language; it makes the flag distinguishable enough to stand out on its own.

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File:Flags-of-SK-Canada-AB.jpg|The flag of Saskatchewan flying alongside the flags of Canada and Alberta in Lloydminster

File:Drapeau fransaskois.jpg|Flag of the Fransaskois

File:Saskatchewan Vice Regal Standard.jpg|The Vice Regal Standard over the Saskatchewan Legislative Building at the installation of W. Thomas Molloy

File:Flag of the Lieutenant-Governor of Saskatchewan (1906–1981).svg|Flag of the lieutenant-governor of Saskatchewan (1906–1981)

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See also

  • List of Canadian provincial and territorial symbols
  • Symbols of Saskatchewan

References

  • Flag of Saskatchewan in the online Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges
  • Saskatchewan – Flags of the World