Pride Flag
Learn more about the evolution of the Pride flag and the current flag used in Canada.
Current flag
The current version is the Intersex-Inclusive Pride flag.
In 2021, activist Valentino Vecchietti redesigned the Progress Pride flag. This involved adding a purple circle over a golden yellow triangle to the chevron on the left side of the flag designed by Daniel Quasar in 2018.
See General Pride Flag Etiquette for details about usage and customs the federal government has been observing on The Pride Flag from the Public Service Pride web site. About National Flag of Canada etiquette you can consult Canadian Heritage web site.
The Intersex-Inclusive Pride flag was raised for the first time on Parliament Hill during the 2024 Pride Flag Raising. It includes horizontal stripes in red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple, as well as a purple circle over a golden yellow triangle over a white, baby pink, baby blue, brown, and black chevrons.
Symbolism of the colours
- Red, for celebrating life
- Violet, for the human spirit
- Orange, for healing
- White, blue, and pink, the colours of the transgender Pride flag
- Yellow, for sunlight
- Black and brown, which were added to provide people of colour more representation in Pride
- Green, for nature
- Purple circle on a golden yellow background, representing wholeness, completeness, and intersex people’s potentialities
- Blue, for serenity
Evolution of the flag
In the spirit of the earlier Pride flags listed below, the Intersex-Inclusive Pride flag represents people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions, while also explicitly including the intersex community.
- The rainbow Pride flag, 1978
- The transgender Pride flag, 1999
- The intersex Pride flag, 2013
- The More Color More Pride flag, 2017
- The Progress Pride flag, 2018
Original rainbow Pride flag
Created in 1978 by American graphic designer and activist Gilbert Baker, the original rainbow flag featured eight coloured stripes. Designed for the San Francisco Pride Parade, it symbolizes the diversity and unity of the community as a whole. It includes horizontal stripes in pink, red, orange, yellow, green, turquoise, blue and purple.
Two colours were later removed: pink, which represented sex, and turquoise, which represented magic and art.
Rainbow Pride flag
Later on in 1978, the number of stripes was reduced from eight to six. When Gilbert Baker first tried to sell his flag, pink fabric soon sold out. A few weeks later, he removed the turquoise stripe to keep the number of colours even so that banners and flags could be folded into two equal parts.
It includes horizontal stripes in red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple.
Intersex Pride flag
In 2013, Morgan Carpenter created the intersex Pride flag. It consists of a purple circle on a golden yellow background. The two colours and the circle avoid referencing gender stereotypes, unlike the colours pink and blue. The design seeks to completely avoid the use of symbols that have anything to do with gender.
Progress Pride flag
Created in 2018 by activist Daniel Quasar and inspired by the rainbow flag, the new design celebrates the diversity of the 2SLGBTQI+ communities and calls for a more inclusive society. This flag incorporates chevrons featuring five new colours – below are their meanings:
- Black and brown were added to represent Black, Indigenous, and people of colour.
- White, pink, and light blue are the colours of the transgender Pride flag, designed by Monica Helms in 1999. Light blue is the traditional colour for baby boys. Pink is the traditional colour for baby girls. The triangle in the middle is white, for those who are intersex or transitioning, or who consider themselves as having a neutral or undefined gender.
- The chevron pattern forms an arrow pointing to the right to indicate forward movement, showing that progress still needs to be made. Quasar also sought to represent those who have died of AIDS and those living with HIV through the black chevron.
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