The provincial flag of Saskatchewan was adopted in 1969. It is blazoned ''

per fess In heraldry, the field (background) of a shield can be divided into more than one area, or subdivision, of different tinctures, usually following the lines of one of the ordinaries and carrying its name (e.g. a shield divided in the shape of a c ...

vert Vert or Verts may refer to: * Vert (heraldry), the colour green in heraldry * Vert (music producer) (born 1972), pseudonym of Adam Butler, an English music producer * Vert (river), in southern France * Vert (sport), a competition in extreme versi ...

and or, in the fly a

prairie lily ''Lilium philadelphicum'', also known as the wood lily, Philadelphia lily, prairie lily, or western red lily, is a perennial species of lily native to North America. Distribution The plant is widely distributed in much of Canada from British ...

slipped and leaved proper, in the dexter chief an escutcheon of the

coat of arms of Saskatchewan The coat of arms of Saskatchewan is the heraldic symbol representing the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The arms, consisting of only the shield, was assigned by royal warrant of King Edward VII on 25 August 1906. It uses the provincial c ...

fimbriated

argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to ...

''. The symbolism within the flag is shown just with the colours; yellow representing the grain fields in the southern portion of the province where as the green represents the northern forested areas. The western red lily in the fly of the flag is the provincial flower. In 2017, The Minister of Parks, Culture and Sports designated September 22 as Saskatchewan Flag Day.

History

The flag of Saskatchewan was adopted on September 22, 1969, the result of a province-wide competition that drew over 4000 entries. The winning entry was one of the 13 designed by

Anthony Drake Anthony Drake (19411June 2022) was an English high school teacher who designed the provincial flag of Saskatchewan in 1968. The flag was adopted on 22 September 1969, but by then, Drake and his wife had already returned to England and therefor ...

Hodgeville, Saskatchewan Hodgeville (Canada 2016 Census, 2016 population: ) is a village in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of Lawtonia No. 135 and Division No. 7, Saskatchewan, Census Division No. 7 ...

. Drake came and left Saskatchewan from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

and did not have an opportunity to see his winning design fly until returning to Hodgeville. Saskatchewan politician

Percy Schmeiser Percy Schmeiser (5 January 193113 October 2020) was a Canadian businessman, farmer, and politician. In 1954, he took over the operations of the family owned farm, gas station, and farm equipment dealership. He renamed the farm equipment dealersh ...

was on the flag committee in 1969 during his time as member of the Legislative Assembly and was at the inaugural flag raising ceremony, unlike Anthony Drake. The two finally met when Drake returned in 2019.

Other flags

60th anniversary flag

In preparation for the province's

Diamond Jubilee A diamond jubilee celebrates the 60th anniversary of a significant event related to a person (e.g. accession to the throne or wedding, among others) or the 60th anniversary of an institution's founding. The term is also used for 75th anniver ...

the government had opted to organize a competition to design a distinctive flag utilizing the colours of the province's

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in its ...

. Sister Imelda of St. Angela's Convent of

Prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pre ...

had designed the winning flag and it was selected from 241 other entries. The flag was first hoisted on the 31st of January in the year 1965. Its use continued as the province's centennial flag for 1967 and in the years prior to the contest and selection of the current flag Sister Imelda's was used as well. The flag's sponsors had hoped it would officially be the province's flag as it was being used to represent Saskatchewan but that was not the case. The Diamond Jubilee flag is blazoned ''per fess gules and vert, in the fly an escutcheon of the Arms of Saskatchewan fimbriated or, in the hoist a stalk of wheat or''. The red featured in the top half symbolizes the fires that used to rage through the wheat fields in the years before cultivation, the green represents the luxuriant growth, and the gold representing the ripening the wheat fields.

Fransaskois flag

This flag used to represent the heritage of the French speakers of Saskatchewan and is blazoned ''Or a cross enhanced throughout vert, its vertical beam to the hoist, in the fly a

fleur-de-lis The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol. The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...

gules its traverse vert''. The symbolism within the Fransaskois flag is mostly the same as the provincial flag with the yellow and green representing the wheat and the forests respectively. However, with the addition of the cross alluding to the role that the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

and the many missionaries had in settling what is now the province of Saskatchewan and the fleur-de-lis which represents the Francophone population globally; it is coloured red to show the fighting courage in the battle of preserving the rights of their culture and language; it makes the flag distinguishable enough to stand out on its own.

Standard of the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan

Flag of the Lieutenant-Governor of Saskatchewan

The

Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan The lieutenant governor of Saskatchewan () is the viceregal representative in Saskatchewan of the , who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the ten other jurisdictions of Canada, as well as the other Common ...

is a viceregal representative of the monarch of Canada and thus has their own flag. It has precedence over any other flag except the Royal Standard and the

flag of the Governor General of Canada The flag of the governor general of Canada is a flag used as a symbol to mark the presence of the governor general of Canada. Such a flag has been used by governors general since just after Canadian Confederation and the design has altered over dec ...

, unless the Governor General is a guest of the Lieutenant Governor. This flag is flown at the home and office of the Lieutenant Governor as well as any buildings that may conduct official duties. It is blazoned ''Azure the shield of Arms of the Province of Saskatchewan ensigned with the Royal Crown proper and encircled by a wreath of maple leaves Or''.

Gallery

File:Flags-of-SK-Canada-AB.jpg, The flag of Saskatchewan flying alongside the flags of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

and

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

Lloydminster Lloydminster is a city in Canada which has the unusual geographic distinction of straddling the provincial border between Alberta and Saskatchewan. The city is incorporated by both provinces as a single city with a single municipal administrati ...

File:Drapeau fransaskois.jpg, Flag of the Fransaskois File:Saskatchewan Vice Regal Standard.jpg, The Vice Regal Standard over the Saskatchewan Legislative Building at the installation of W. Thomas Molloy File:Flag of the Lieutenant-Governor of Saskatchewan (1906–1981).svg, Flag of the Lieutenant-Governor of Saskatchewan (1906–1981)

References

External links

Flag of Saskatchewan
in the online Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges

– Flags of the World {{DEFAULTSORT:Saskatchewan, 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 Saskatchewan Flags of Canada Flags introduced in 1969

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...