Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Toronto Flag

City of Toronto flag (1974-1997 and 1999 to the present)

Elements of the Flag

• the twin towers of City Hall on a blue background
• the red maple leaf of the Flag of Canada represents the Council Chamber at the base of the towers

Design

The City Hall symbol is incorporated in the flag design as an abstracted white linear graphic against a predominant blue (Pantone 287) background.  A red (Pantone 186) maple leaf visually links Toronto to Canada and Ontario’s heritage, flag and symbols.

The flag dimensions are based upon a 2:1 ratio proportion.

You can download and print your own City of Toronto flag  or City of Toronto flag colouring sheet .

The City of Toronto encourages residents, businesses, organizations, and institutions to fly the flag of the City of Toronto (Toronto Flag). Flying the Toronto Flag does not imply approval or collaboration by the City of Toronto for a project, product, or company.

Requests to use or depict the Toronto Flag, other than flying the Toronto Flag, require the City’s permission.  Requests can be sent to protocol@toronto.ca.

History

On August 28, 1974, City Council appointed a committee to help design a new Toronto flag. The existing flag, designed by art advisory committee chairman Professor Eric Arthur and his son Paul, featured the city crest on a white and blue background. The art advisory committee recommended Council adopt the flag as the official city banner. But Mayor William Dennison disagreed, saying, “It’s not really a flag at all. It’s just another good way of displaying the city’s coat of arms.”

A City of Toronto Flag Design Committee was created. The committee was made up of Aldermen Paul B. Pickett, Q.C. and Reid Scott, Q.C. as co-chairs and Aldermen Edward Negridge, Colin Vaughan and Anne Johnston as members.

1974

Samples of the designs submitted for the 1974 flag competition:
A competition to find a new flag was launched, open to residents of all ages in Metropolitan Toronto. On September 4, 1974, Council approved a $500 Canada Savings Bond to be awarded to the winning designer. The deadline for receiving entries was October 18, 1974.

More than 700 submissions were received from children and adults from across Toronto, ranging in age from six to ninety years old. The designs were varied in colour and theme – some included Toronto landmarks like the CN Tower and City Hall. Almost half of the designs incorporated the maple leaf while others focused on friendship and unity.

City Archivist Robert Woadden led the competition and was committed to maintaining a level playing field. He assigned each entry a number and locked all of them in the City Hall basement vault. The Flag Design Committee did not see any of the designs until judging took place on October 28 – 29, 1974.

On November 6, 1974, the Flag Design Committee submitted its selection to Council. Unanimously, Council selected the design of 21 year-old George Brown College graphic design student, Renato De Santis. De Santis’ design included the letter ‘T’ for Toronto, the outline of City Hall on a blue background and a red maple leaf representing the Council Chamber at the base of the towers. The flag dimensions or ratio was 4′ x 6′.

An official flag raising ceremony was held on Nathan Phillips Square on November 7, 1974.

The first copy of the new flag was stolen from the flagpole where it flew outside of City Hall and had to be replaced.

With the amalgamation of the former cities of Etobicoke, Scarborough, North York, York and Toronto, the Borough of East York and the Metropolitan Toronto level of government taking effect on January 1, 1998, a second competition was launched in 1997 to find a flag for the new City of Toronto. The public was invited to submit designs for a new flag but had to follow more specific criteria such as limiting designs to three colours and proportions 3′ x 6′. The prize for the winning design of the new Toronto flag was a $3,000 honorarium.

Council did not approve any of the 161 design submissions received from the public so asked City design staff to submit proposals.

1997-1999

Samples of the designs submitted for the 1999 Toronto flag competition
During the Council review of staff designs, the designer of the original Toronto flag, Renato De Santis, suggested his design be approved with minor modifications to fit the 3′ x 6′ format. In the intervening years, De Santis became the head of an advertising firm specializing in logos and designs.

At a council meeting in November 1999, after months of heated debate, Deputy Mayor Case Ootes decided to let the public have a say in the flag design they preferred. Deputy Mayor Ootes, who was chairing the meeting, polled the audience in the Council Chambers as to what design they liked best – the slightly modified original flag designed by Renato De Santis or another design recommended by Councillor Brad Duguid. The flag used by the former City of Toronto flag evoked cheers and whistles from the audience, clearly the favourite.

Council adopted the modified old design on a vote of 31-14. The new City of Toronto had adopted its flag.

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