Manitoba (Canada)

ISO 3166-2 Code: CA-MB
MARC Code: mbc

British red ensign with arms in fly - green with a bison standing on a rock, St. George's cross in chief. ratio 1:2. officially hoisted 1966-05-12. Civil and state flag on land.
Željko Heimer - 1996-07-16

---

The legislation referred to is 'An Act respecting the Flag of Manitoba' which received Her Majesty's approval on 27 August 1965, and was "assented to 11 May 1965". Article One of the accompanying Schedule is largely quoted, however, it goes on (in Paragraph 2) to give the colours in the (now redundant) British Admiralty Colour Code as "No. T1144 for nylon worsted bunting and No. T818A for other bunting".

Article Two of the Schedule is an illustration of the flag, which shows that the shield is not exactly "centred on the half furthest from the staff" as per the prescription in Article One, but (as is confirmed by a later official coloured model) actually has the square of the shield centred which places it overall below the centre of the fly half. There is a slight disparity between the two illustrations (5% of flag width to be exact), however, making a slight adjustment to both creates a shield height equalling 5/12 of flag width, whilst both show shield proportions of 5:4.
Christopher Southworth, 25 January 2005

The history of Manitoba's most important official symbol is virtually as old as the Province itself. Within a few weeks of the formal entry of the new Province of Manitoba into Confederation on 15 July 1870, a new seal was adopted as the first Great Seal of the Province.

At the centre of this seal was a shield featuring a buffalo beneath the red cross of St. George bearing at its centre, a representation of the Royal Crown. Unfortunately, no evidence has yet surfaced to indicate who was the author of this striking design. The inspiration for it is quite clear. As Dr. Conrad Swan, Garter King of Arms, has noted in his excellent study, Canada Symbols of Sovereignity

"For all but two centuries, the Hudson's Bay Company had exercised vice regal jurisdiction over the area out of which Manitoba was carved. The principal charge of the company'