The flag of British Columbia is based upon the

shield A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry or projectiles such as arrows, by means of ...

of the provincial arms of British Columbia. At the top of the flag is a rendition of the

Royal Union Flag The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...

, defaced in the centre by a crown, and with a setting sun, a view from parliament across the water at the province capitol, representing the location of the province of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

at the western end of Canada.

History

From 1870 to 1906, British Columbia was occasionally represented by a modified British

blue ensign The Blue Ensign is a flag, one of several British ensigns, used by certain organisations or territories associated or formerly associated with the United Kingdom. It is used either plain or defaced with a badge or other emblem. The e ...

featuring various forms of the great seal of the Colony of British Columbia. The current flag of British Columbia was based upon the 1906 arms of the province, designed by Arthur John Beanlands, the

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

of Christ Church Cathedral. Originally, the arms featured the Union Flag on the bottom. This was changed as it conflicted with the expression "

The sun never sets on the British Empire The phrase "the empire on which the sun never sets" ( es, el imperio donde nunca se pone el sol) was used to describe certain global empires that were so extensive that it seemed as though it was always daytime in at least one part of its territ ...

." Based upon Beanlands' revised design, the flag of British Columbia was introduced on June 14, 1960, by Premier

W. A. C. Bennett William Andrew Cecil Bennett (September 6, 1900 – February 23, 1979) was a Canadian politician. He was the 25th premier of British Columbia from 1952 to 1972. With just over 20 years in office, Bennett was and remains the longest-serving prem ...

, and was first flown on board the

BC Ferries British Columbia Ferry Services Inc., operating as BC Ferries (BCF), is a former provincial Crown corporation, now operating as an independently managed, publicly owned Canadian company. BC Ferries provides all major passenger and vehicle ferr ...

motor vessel ''Sidney'' (later '' Queen of Sidney'').

Design

The four wavy white and three wavy blue lines symbolize the province's location between the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...

and the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

. The setting sun represents the fact that British Columbia is Canada's westernmost province. The image of the continuously rising sun refers to the provincial motto "splendor sine occasu" (“splendour without diminishment”)—suggesting the idea that the sun never sets (on the British Empire). The

Union Flag The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...

on top reflects the province's British heritage, while the crown in the centre represents British Columbia becoming a Crown colony and achieving responsible government. The flag has an aspect ratio of 3:5. A stylized version of the flag that appears on British Columbia licence plates incorrectly features the setting sun overlapping the Union Flag instead of the waves. The flag of British Columbia is similar to the

flag of the British Indian Ocean Territory The flag of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) is similar to the flags of other British dependencies and colonies as it has the Union Flag in the upper hoist-side corner. The palm tree and crown are symbols of the Indian Ocean Territory. ...

. It also bears similarities to the arms of

Suffolk County Council Suffolk County Council is the administrative authority for the county of Suffolk, England. It is run by 75 elected county councillors representing 63 divisions. It is a member of the East of England Local Government Association. History Est ...

, the local authority of the county of

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include ...

in the United Kingdom. As well as the

flag of Kiribati The flag of Kiribati (Gilbertese: ''buraki ni Kiribati'') is red in the upper half with a gold frigatebird ( ''Fregata minor'', in Gilbertese: ''te eitei'') flying over a gold rising sun (''otintaai''), and the lower half is blue with three hori ...

, which features the blue waves for the

and a sun for its own cultural reasons.

Gallery

File:Flag of the Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia.svg,

Standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

of the

Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia The lieutenant governor of British Columbia () is the viceregal representative of the , in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The office of lieutenant governor is an office of the Crown and serves as a representative of the monarchy in ...

File:Flags of the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia (1906-1982).svg, Standard of the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia (1906–1982) File:Flag of the Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia (1871–1906).svg, Standard of the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia (1871–1906) File:Flag of the Governor of British Columbia (1870–1871).svg, Standard of the Governor of British Columbia (1870–1871) File:Flag of the Franco-Colombiens.svg, Flag of

Franco-Columbians Franco-Columbians (french: Franco-Colombiens) are French Canadians or Canadian francophones living in the province of British Columbia. According to the 2016 Canadian Census, 71,705 residents of the province stated that French is their mother ton ...

File:Flag of Vancouver Island.svg, Unofficial recreation of the

Flag of Vancouver Island The flag of Vancouver Island is a defaced Blue Ensign with the Union Flag in the canton and the badge of the colony of Vancouver Island on a white disk on the fly. The design of this flag is based on the rules set out by the Admiralty for co ...

(1988–current)

References

External links

Arms and flag of British Columbia
in the online Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges

– The Flags of Canada, by Alistair B. Fraser {{DEFAULTSORT:British Columbia, Flag of

Flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

Flags of Canada Flags with crosses 1906 introductions

History

Design

Gallery

See also

References

External links