Hampson: Does the ‘royal’ rebranding of the Canadian Forces have a wider meaning?
Director of the Global Security program and Distinguished Fellow at CIGI and Chancellor's Professor at Carleton University
Harper has put the Royal jelly back into the Canadian Armed Forces in response to pressures from veterans and other groups. Her Majesty’s portrait also adorns the front lobby of the Lester B. Pearson building on what is now dubbed “the sovereign wall.” History and Canada’s traditions clearly matter a lot to this government. Will the Canadian Red Ensign, our flag before 1965, be resurrected next to replace the Maple Leaf, a Pearson-Liberal creation that was much derided at the time, but which Canadians have grown to accept if not love?
