Windsor, Ontario (Canada)

Windsor

Windsor is a city in Ontario and the southernmost city in Canada. It is on the southern shore of the Detroit River, due south and directly across the river from Detroit, Michigan.

Current Flag

Text and image(s) from Canadian City Flags, Raven 18 (2011), courtesy of the North American Vexillological Association, which retains copyright. Image(s) by permission of Eugene Ipavec.

Design

The flag of the City of Windsor has a royal blue field divided diagonally by a white stripe running from lower hoist to upper fly. The stripe is about one-fourth of the flag’s width (some illustrations show it as much as one-third of the flag’s width) and its imaginary centre line intersects the flag’s corners. In the lower right is a large naturalistic rose in red with a green stem and leaves, and pink and black details. In the upper left is the city’s badge, consisting of two concentric golden yellow circles enclosing an outer ring of royal blue. Arched in the top part of the ring is CITY OF WINDSOR and at the bottom is 1854 in a small arch, and on either side laurel fronds extend halfway up the ring, all in golden yellow. The field within the inner circle is red. A stylized white “W” curves from the base following the circular shape almost to the apex. At the base of the letter, between the two lower points of the “W”, is a small white maple leaf. Within and behind the “W” is a double-ringed cogwheel in black, its lower portion obscured. At the top, between the ends of the letter, is a round red rose with white details and a vertical white stem surmounting the cogwheel.
John M. Purcell, Canadian City Flags, Raven 18, 2011

Symbolism

The royal blue field symbolizes Windsor’s royal connection (the House of Windsor is the current royal family in Britain) and the Detroit River, which separates the city from Detroit, Michigan, to the north. The white stripe denotes Windsor’s location in the centre of the St. Lawrence Seaway; its colour symbolizes peace, as the city is on the international border. The red rose recalls that Windsor is the “City of Roses”. The nickname came from the efforts of Inspector Emerson Mitchell of the Windsor Police Department, who in his retirement planted roses throughout the city.

The city explains the badge’s symbols:

The very heart of the crest [badge] contains an industrial wheel (gear). It is located in the centre to show the importance of industry in our city. The stylized “W” is for the word Windsor. Note how it is embracing the “Wheel of Industry”. This is to show that the city welcomes, likes, and protects the industrial complex which is the city’s most important asset. Note also how the two middle bars of the letter “W” meet and point to the very centre of the axis. This is to show that our livelihood is rotating around this point. To show that Windsor is a peaceful place to live and deal with, the “W” is shown in white. The rose represents the known fact that Windsor is the “City of Roses”. The maple leaf and red background reassure us that Windsor is patriotic—Canadian. Below is the birth date of our city—1854. The laurel leaves on each side glorify our past. The wording “City of Windsor”, date, and laurel leaves are done in gold to show the prosperity—golden age of the city.

Selection

Designer

Hector Lacasse, a distinguished Canadian vexillologist and once mayor of adjacent Tecumseh. A painting of him with the flag hung in his house. John Jaciw, a Ukrainian-Canadian graphic artist, designed the badge.
John M. Purcell, Canadian City Flags, Raven 18, 2011

More about the flag

1:2 image by Eugene Ipavec
Source: Canadian City Flags, Raven 18

Other Flag

1:2 image by Eugene Ipavec
Source: Canadian City Flags, Raven 18