The fleurdelysé is 75 years old | My dear flag, it’s your turn

Saturday January 21 will mark the 75^e anniversary of the first day the Quebec flag was hoisted atop the National Assembly. Back in time.

January 21, 1948

On January 21, 1948, 17 years before Canada adopted the maple leaf, the Legislative Assembly (now National Assembly) of Quebec adopted its own flag. Around 3:10 p.m., the fleur-delysé floats at the top of the tower of the National Assembly, in Quebec. Inside, Prime Minister Maurice Duplessis declared that “Quebecers had been asking for a long time for Quebec to adopt an official standard” and that a flag was needed “that excludes any sign of serfdom, colonialism”, a thinly veiled allusion to the British Union Jack which had been the only official flag of the country since the Conquest. Duplessis proposed that the House adopt “a distinctly Canadian flag which symbolizes the aspirations of the people of this province”.

Rene Chaloult

The existence of the flag owes a great deal to the work of the independent Member of Parliament for Quebec René Chaloult, who had campaigned for its adoption for years. Mr. Chalout was supposed to table a motion on January 21, 1948 for this project to be adopted, but Duplessis took him by surprise. Chaloult did not take umbrage if we trust his speech in the House: “Given the motion that I entered on the order paper, I had prepared a plea in favor of the fleurdelysé; obviously I sacrifice it with joy”, he declares. A plaque in honor of Mr. Chaloult on which he is said to be “promoter of the adoption of a Quebec flag” is affixed to the place where he lived in Quebec.

Inspired by other banners and flags

There is a Hall of Flags in the National Assembly where eight banners and flags that inspired that of Quebec are exhibited. Thus, the fleur-de-lis, the oldest symbol, appeared on the banner of King Louis VII, whose reign went from 1137 to 1180. A red flag with a white cross also appeared in the left corner of a flag hoisted in the port of Saint-Malo when Jacques Cartier and his fleet set sail for the New World. The flag later turns blue on merchant ships and, if the standard is square, the whole evokes unequivocally the future Quebec flag.

The lily flowers

The fleur-de-lis on the Quebec flag are inspired by those on the Carillon banner. According to the website of the National Assembly, this religious banner whose center is marked by the arms of France is “considered the direct ancestor of the Quebec flag”. On June 24, 1848, it was carried high in the streets of Quebec by the leaders of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society.

Elphege Filiatrault

We owe the parish priest of Saint-Jude Elphège Filiatrault the amalgam that led to the creation of the Quebec flag. On September 23, 1902, Elphège Filiatrault, celebrating her silver wedding anniversary, erected a new flag, nicknamed Modern Carillon, in the center of the village and declared: “We are a new people on the land of America; now, a new people needs a new flag. According to Christian Blais, historian at the library of the National Assembly, a mistake by Elphège Filiatrault led to the adoption of the color blue. “The priest had heard that the banner of Carillon was blue,” he said. Which was not the case. The blue still remained.

straighten the lilies

Let’s go back to January 21, 1948. While presenting the new flag of Quebec, Maurice Duplessis announces an important correction. “Following the advice of heraldry experts, we made some changes,” he said. We have straightened the fleur-de-lis, so that they point straight up to the sky, to clearly indicate the value of our traditions and the strength of our convictions. »

The example must come from above

What does the Quebec flag represent for Marie-Anne Alepin, General President of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society? “The fleurdelysé is a powerful symbol of our pride, of our nation,” she replies. And also of our past, our present and our future. Young and old are always happy to wear it. We notice it in every demonstration and show. Recalling that a law exists on the display of the flag, she believes that the government and its authorities must be exemplary. “We shouldn’t see frayed flags anymore,” she said. I understand that we have a particular environment with winter. But knowing this, we could work upstream so that the flag is always impeccable. »

Saturday celebrations

Saturday noon, on the Place des Arts esplanade, some 200 people, including several personalities, will unfurl the largest Quebec flag ever seen (18 x 24 meters). Moreover, the National Movement of Quebecers will celebrate this anniversary throughout Quebec. In Quebec, a ceremony, organized by the National Assembly, will be held on Saturday. The Minister for the French Language, Jean-François Roberge, will take part. As for Prime Minister François Legault, he will publish several messages, the same day, on social networks, indicates his press officer Ewan Sauves.