The Flag of Quebec: The Fleurdelisé and French Canadian Identity

Canada’s Oldest Provincial Flag

The Fleurdelisé was adopted as Quebec’s official flag on January 21, 1948, making it the oldest currently-used provincial flag in Canada. Its adoption predated the national flag debate by nearly two decades.

Design and Symbolism

The flag features a blue field divided into four quarters by a white cross. Each quarter contains a white fleur-de-lis. The blue represents the French monarchy, the white cross symbolizes Christian faith, and the fleurs-de-lis are traditional symbols of French royalty dating to the earliest days of New France.

Historical Development

The flag evolved from the Carillon banner, a blue flag with white fleurs-de-lis that was believed (incorrectly, it turned out) to have been carried at the 1758 Battle of Carillon. The myth was more powerful than the reality, and the Carillon design became a rallying symbol for French Canadian identity in the late 19th century.

Premier Maurice Duplessis ordered the Fleurdelisé raised over the Quebec National Assembly on January 21, 1948, replacing the Union Jack. It has flown there ever since. The Fleurdelisé was the first provincial flag adopted by any Canadian province, and its distinctly non-British design foreshadowed the national debate that would come sixteen years later.