Three Flags

When three flags are flown together, the national flag must be placed in the centre. The second flag, by order of precedence, is placed on the left (as seen from the front), while the other is placed on the right.

Canada’s national flag is often hoisted with the flag of a province or territory and the flag of a city or an organization’s banner.  In this type of arrangement, the national flag must be placed in the centre, the provincial or territorial flag on the left and the city flag or organizational banner on the right (as seen from the front). 

Place of Honour

Flag etiquette and precedence rules must be respected every time Canada’s national flag or the flag of a sovereign nation or a province or territory is flown. The place of honour depends on the number of flags flown and the chosen configuration. When two flags (or more than three flags) are flown, the place of honour is on the far left (as seen from the front). When three flags are flown, the place of honour is in the centre (see grouping for three flags).

Precedence

The order of precedence for flags is the following:

1. Canada's national flag*
2. Flags of other sovereign nations, in alphabetical order (if necessary)**                 
3. Flags of Canadian provinces (according to date of entry in Confederation)
4. Flags of Canadian territories (according to date of entry in Confederation)
5. Municipal or city flags
6. Organizational banners

* The Queen’s Personal Canadian Flag and standards from members of the Royal Family, the Governor General and the Lieutenant Governor (when the Lieutenant Governor is performing his duties as the Queen's representative in the province) take precedence over Canada’s national flag when they are flown over a building in which these people reside or perform duties.

** As indicated in the section entitled “The Royal Union Flag”, certain exceptions apply when the Union Jack is flown.

Flags of Canadian Provinces and Territories

When Canada’s national flag is flown with provincial and territorial flags, the order of precedence corresponds with the date the provinces and then the territories entered in the Confederation. See order below:

1. National flag
2. Ontario (1867)
3. Quebec (1867)
4. Nova Scotia (1867)
5. New Brunswick (1867)
6. Manitoba (1870)
7. British Columbia (1871)
8. Prince Edward Island (1873)
9. Saskatchewan (1905)
10. Alberta (1905)
11. Newfoundland (1949)
12. Northwest Territories (1870)
13. Yukon (1898)
14. Nunavut (1999)

If there are more than three flagpoles, the Canadian flag must be placed on the left (as seen from the front). The other flags are placed in order of precedence.

Half-Mast in Times of Mourning

Flags are flown at half-mast to signify mourning.

To fly a flag at half-mast, you must first hoist it to the top of the flagpole then, without waiting, slowly lower it down to half-mast.

The position of a flag flying at half-mast depends on its size and the height of the pole.  It must be lowered to a position that can be perceived as being at least at half-mast and not seem to have slipped down due to a loose halyard. Generally, good results are obtained when the centre of the flag is exactly halfway up the pole.

When circumstances call for a flag to be lowered to half-mast, all flags flown together must be lowered.  However, this can only be done when the flagpole is equipped with a halyard or pulleys. When flags are permanently attached to horizontal or inclined poles without a halyard, flag-lowering cannot take place.

- Rules for Flying the Flag

- Fierté Nationale