Personal Flags of Lieutenant Governors and Territorial Commissioners

Like other dignitaries such as the Sovereign, certain members of the Royal Family and the governor general, Canada’s lieutenant governors and territorial commissioners each have a personal flag.

A personal flag is a distinguishing flag that identifies the dignitary occupying a given position. Such flags are flown on buildings or on exterior flagpoles to denote the dignitary’s presence at that location.

Personal flags are never displayed inside a building, except for the office or study of the person they identify. Personal flags are never flown on or inside a place of worship, and are not half-masted in times of mourning.

The lieutenant governors’ and territorial commissioners’ personal flags are only flown within the jurisdiction they represent. They are not flown while they are visiting another province or territory, or when they are outside Canada.

Design of the Lieutenant Governors’ and Territorial Commissioners’ Personal Flags

The flags of the lieutenant governors and territorial Commissioners all bear the shield of the coat of arms of their respective province or territory. Since 1980, most of them have followed a consistent design. The lieutenant governors’ flags bear the shield of the provincial arms on a royal blue background, surmounted by the Royal Crown and framed by a wreath of 10 golden maple leaves. The territorial commissioners’ flags bear the shield of the territorial arms, also on a blue background but framed by a wreath of 6 golden maple leaves and 2 flowers, representing their respective territorial floral emblem. As territorial commissioners are not representatives of the Sovereign, the Royal Crown does not appear on their personal flags.

There are 2 exceptions. The flag of the lieutenant governor of Quebec, designed in 1952, features a white disc charged with the shield and motto of the provincial coat of arms, on a royal blue background. The flag of the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia uses a design approved by Queen Victoria in 1869, and shows the Royal Union Flag charged with a white disc bearing the shield of the provincial coat of arms within a garland of green maple leaves.

Lieutenant Governors’ Personal Flags

The lieutenant governor of Ontario's flag.
Ontario
The lieutenant governor of Quebec's flag.
Quebec
The lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia's flag.
Nova Scotia
The lieutenant governor of New Brunswick's flag.
New Brunswick
The lieutenant governor of Manitoba's flag.
Manitoba
The lieutenant governor of British Columbia's flag.
British Columbia
The lieutenant governor of Prince Edward Island's flag.
Prince Edward Island
The lieutenant governor of Saskatchewan's flag.
Saskatchewan
The lieutenant governor of Alberta's flag.
Alberta
The lieutenant governor of Newfoundland and Labrador's flag.
Newfoundland and Labrador

Territorial Commissioners’ Personal Flags

Territorial Commissioners of Northwest Territories's flag.
Northwest Territories
Territorial Commissioners of Yukon's flag.
Yukon
Territorial Commissioners of Nunavut's flag.
Nunavut

© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, represented by the Canadian Heraldic Authority

Flag precedence

The lieutenant governors’ flags take precedence over the National Flag of Canada within their own jurisdictions.

Read more on the order of precedence for flags in Canada, on the personal flags displacing the National Flag of Canada, and on the duties of the lieutenant governors.

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