Today, the national flag of Canada with its maple leaf is more or less taken for granted. But, over the decades, a flag for Canada was the subject of much debate. Long before its acceptance in 1965, the question of a truly unique Canadian flag occupied the minds of parliamentarians in Ottawa.
One of them was a son of Grey County, Cameron Ross McIntosh. Born in Sullivan Township at Dornoch in 1871, he was the son of Donald Ross McIntosh and Mary Cameron. After attending a one-room school in Latona and high school in Durham, he went to normal school in Hamilton and then on to university at Queen’s in Kingston.
After teaching school in Leeds County, Cameron McIntosh joined the march west, becoming the publisher of the North Battleford News and the owner of the Turtleford Record and Times, both in Saskatchewan. A popular figure, he was elected to the House of Commons in 1924 for North Battleford – and reelected in 1926, 1930 and 1935.
During his many years in the House of Commons, this Sullivan Township “old boy” was a strong supporter of a distinctive Canadian flag. And by his persistence, he began to win converts. In 1931, he entered a motion into the House calling for the appointment of a committee to consider the idea of adopting a Canadian flag that would represent Canada as a whole and in which the British flag would occupy a position of honour.
Cameron McIntosh entered similar motions in 1938 and 1939 before being defeated in 1940. Although a world war and 25 more years would go by before the maple leaf flag was adopted, Cameron McIntosh can well be called the father of our flag.
Originally aired May 27th 2016
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