Saskatoon

Saskatoon
Country	Canada
Province	Saskatchewan
Adopted	July 7, 1952
Designed by	Descombe Whitehead, Henry Mirtle
Proportions	1:2

The flag of Saskatoon has 13 yellow and white stripes on the right and a green bar on the left. Inside the green area is a Saskatoon plant. In the middle of the stripes and green is the city’s coat of arms.

Symbolism

Green and gold are the city’s official colours and represent the importance of agriculture; green for growing crops and gold for the harvest. The seven yellow stripes stand for the city’s seven districts. The saskatoon plant is shown on the hoist of the flag and in the lion’s paw. The open book of learning comes from the shield of the University of Saskatchewan, and marks the connection between the academic seat and the city. The cogged wheel and wheat stalk represent the agricultural industry. The parallel lines extending from the central circle show the importance of Saskatoon, “The Hub City”, as a railway and distribution centre. The central circle is a coin which signifies the commercial importance of the city. The lion in the crest comes from Saskatchewan’s arms.

History

In preparation for the city’s 70th anniversary celebrations in 1952, the Retail Merchants Association requested that something distinctive in the way of a city flag should be designed for decorative purposes. The city council agreed to the request as long as it would be able to review the final design. The colours gold, green, and white were chosen as the flag colours, and the council granted approval to use the city’s coat of arms and recommended the flag follow a design similar to the U.S. flag. On 7 July 1952, four designs were presented to council, which chose one as the city flag and pennant. A drawing of the winning flag was included on the front cover of the committee’s 70th anniversary book.