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Debate in Canada from 1963 to 1964 over the design of a new national flag

The Great Canadian flag debate (or Great Flag Debate) was a national debate that took place in 1963 and 1964 when a new design for the national flag of Canada was chosen. Although the flag debate had been going on for a long time prior, it officially began on June 15, 1964, when Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson proposed his plans for a new flag in the House of Commons. The debate lasted more than six months, bitterly dividing the people in the process. The debate over the proposed new Canadian flag was ended by closure on December 15, 1964. It resulted in the adoption of the "Maple Leaf" as the Canadian national flag, which remains the official national flag of Canada. The flag was inaugurated on February 15, 1965, a date that has been commemorated as National Flag of Canada Day since 1996.

The Union Jack served as the formal flag for various colonies in British North America, and remained as the formal national flag of Canada from Confederation to 1965. However, from the late 19th century to 1965, the civil ensign for Canada, the Canadian Red Ensign, was also used as an unofficial national flag and symbol for Canada. The first Canadian Red Ensigns were used in Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald's time. The Governor General at the time of Macdonald's death, Lord Stanley, wrote to London in 1891:

the Dominion Government has encouraged by precept and example the use on all public buildings throughout the provinces of the Red Ensign with the Canadian badge on the fly [which] has come to be considered as the recognized flag of the Dominion, both ashore and afloat. Under pressure from pro imperial public opinion, Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier raised the Union Jack over Parliament, where it remained until the re emergence of the Red Ensign in the 1920s. William Lyon Mackenzie King tried to adopt a new Canadian national flag in 1925 and 1946, In April 1963, an opinion poll of 2,262 Canadians found that 52% supported a new national flag for Canada of its own, while 30% preferred using the Union Jack and 18% preferred using the Canadian Red Ensign.

While the committee had made its decision, the House of Commons had not. Diefenbaker would not budge, so the debate continued for six weeks as the Conservatives launched a filibuster. The debate had become so ugly that the Toronto Star called it "The Great Flag Farce." Diefenbaker, however, called it "a flag by closure, imposed by closure." On the afternoon of December 15, the Commons also voted in favour of continued use of the Union Flag as an official flag to symbolize Canada's allegiance to the Crown and its membership in the Commonwealth of Nations. Senate approval followed on December 17, 1964. The Union Jack, or the "Royal Union Flag", as it would be officially termed in the parliamentary resolution, would be put alongside the new flag at federal government buildings, federally operated airports, military installations, at the masthead of Royal Canadian Navy ships within Canadian waters, and at other appropriate establishments on Commonwealth Day, Victoria Day (the monarch's official birthday in Canada), 11 December (the anniversary of the enactment of the Statute of Westminster 1931), and when otherwise instructed to do so by the National Defence Headquarters. Attachment to the old Canadian Red Ensign has persisted among many people, especially veterans.

The Canadian Red Ensign itself can sometimes be seen today in Canada, often in connection to veterans' associations. In addition, the provinces of Manitoba and Ontario adopted their own versions of the Red Ensign as their respective provincial flags in the wake of the national flag debate. On the other hand, Newfoundland used the Union Jack as its provincial flag from 1952 until 1980; the blue triangles on the new flag adopted in 1980 are meant as a tribute to the Union Jack. British Columbia's flag, which features the Union Jack in its top portion, was introduced in 1960 and is actually based on the shield of the provincial coat of arms, which dates back to 1906. Hence, both Newfoundland's use of the Union Jack and the adoption of British Columbia's flag are unrelated to (and, in fact, pre date) the great flag debate.

Since 1996, February 15 has been commemorated as National Flag of Canada Day in Canada.