[Not a Flag] Found this a while ago o r/historyporn. Canadian committee selecting the Canadian flag that will officially represent the country amongst many delivered propositions.
from /r/vexillology Top comment: If you don’t know the story about this committee: The prime minister (who had a minority government) had agreed to form it in the hope of getting a flag change. He had his favorite (the so-called “Pearson Pennant”), but said he would support whatever the committee recommended... as long as it had the overwhelming support of the committee. It’s a 15-member committee, with a majority of Liberals and a New Democrat vs. the Progressive Conservatives and their Social Credit allies. Pretty even split, 8 members in favor of change, 7 members opposed (but in parliamentary tradition, the committee chair doesn’t vote, so it’s a 7-7 split in practice). The goal is to select a new flag design. Two flags are selected for the final(ish) vote. One of the designs in the Pennant, the chosen flag of the prime minister. The other is the flag we know today (though with 15 points on the leaf), which has been designed mostly by George Stanley but also by Liberal committee member John Matheson (the PM’s point guy for the committee). Now, the Tories see a chance here. They don’t want a new flag at all. The Liberals are going to vote for Pearson’s design, no doubt. This will produce a (at best) 8-7 vote (assuming the chair breaks the tie). That will be a narrow majority, and the PM will abandon his quest for a new flag. So all they have to do is vote for the other flag and this whole issue will be over. No new flag, on to other business. Someone in the “change the flag” camp can also do math (some sources say it was a Lib, others say it was the New Dem). 8-7 is not enough. So this person asks, what if the pro-change side votes for the other option, too? Then it’s a unanimous vote, and looks like there’s a broad consensus. And that’s just what they do. 14-0 (some sources will say 15-0), the draft version of the modern Canadian flag beats the Pearson Pennant, is voted to the floor of the House of Commons (in a much tighter vote), and six acrimonious weeks of filibustering later, is adopted as Canada’s national flag.
