A group of young skaters carried a gigantic Canadian flag down Ottawa鈥檚 Rideau Canal Friday morning to help kick off events marking the 60th anniversary of Canada鈥檚 celebrated banner.
The National Flag of Canada Day event included speeches and the singing of the national anthem and was attended by dozens of skaters, top athletes and a woman who helped to assemble the first-ever modern Maple Leaf flag.
Young skaters from local sport clubs carried the flag down a portion of the Rideau Canal Skateway between the Laurier and Mackenzie King bridges.
The national flag marking its 60th birthday Saturday was adopted in 1965 under the government of Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson.
Joan O鈥橫alley, the seamstress who stitched the first national flag, said the job of assembling prototype flags fell in her lap when she received a call from her dad Ken Donovan, who worked as a purchasing agent for the Canadian government Exhibition Commission.
Pearson wanted examples of the new flag to fly at the prime minister鈥檚 residence at Harrington Lake and Donovan was asked to get them made quickly.
鈥淢y dad said, 鈥業鈥檒l phone my daughter Joan, because she鈥檚 got a sewing machine,鈥欌�� O鈥橫alley said. Her dad ordered 30 yards of bunting from a store in Hull, the designs were silkscreened onto the material that night and O鈥橫alley stayed up until midnight sewing flags.
On Feb. 15, 1965, the day of the official flag raising ceremony, O鈥橫alley said she wasn鈥檛 in attendance, because she had been asked by a member of the flag committee to keep her involvement a secret. Instead, she phoned in sick and took the day off to watch the event on TV.
鈥淎s they were raising the flag, I thought, wow, I was at the birth of this flag,鈥� O鈥橫alley said, adding that she thinks of the work she and her dad did every time she sees a flag. 鈥淚 was so proud.鈥�
Earlier this week, all living former prime ministers called on Canadians to express their national pride and 鈥渟how the flag鈥� as U.S. President Donald Trump continues to make threats against this country鈥檚 economic security and sovereignty.
A group of Canadian senators shared views on the country鈥檚 flag in a report released this week, with some calling it a symbol of pride and togetherness and others saying it represents Canada鈥檚 growth.
Canadian Olympians Sophia Jensen and Toshka Besharah carried the flag with the group of young skaters.
Jensen, a sprint canoeist, said it was nice to be out Friday doing 鈥渢he most Canadian thing possible.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 honoured to be able to represent Canada,鈥� Jensen said.
Besharah, a Team Canada kayaker, said being able to wear the Maple Leaf on the water and seeing the flag rise while on the podium is 鈥渟uch a special feeling.鈥�
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 awesome to be able to carry our flag and it鈥檚 something that we should be so proud of,鈥� Besharah said.
