RCMP Day is coming up on Feb. 1, which is particularly poignant for a local museum since it’s the only one in Canada with the complete collection of all 15 divisional flags.
In Manitoba, RCMP Day is celebrated each year on Feb. 1. It was established through provincial legislation to recognize the history and dedication of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which formed in 1920 and continues its service to public safety in the province.
The RCMP has 15 divisions — one for each province and territory — plus a national division in Ottawa and a depot division for training in Regina. In the late 1980s, each division received its own distinct flag, or ensign, presented by former governor general Ramon Hnatyshyn to then RCMP commissioner Norman Inkster.
All the ensigns have the RCMP badge in the canton, or top left corner of the flat. In addition, they each have a different regional badge on the fly end, or right side of the flag, to indicate the division. Since these ensigns represent the RCMP’s official authority in Canada, they can be seen flying at divisional headquarters, including at D Division on Portage Avenue in Winnipeg.
Shayne Campbell, president and CEO of Settlers, Rails & Trails museum in Argyle, spent more than a decade working with the RCMP to acquire the full donations of ensigns.
“Since 1997, Settlers, Rails & Trails has been collecting flags from across Canada to include historic, corporate, regional, sport and special events. Currently holding over 1,800 flags, our small museum is proud to have the second largest museum flag collection in the country,” he said, noting that it’s second only to the federally operated National Museum of History in Gatineau, Que.
“In an effort to include important flags from unique Canadian organizations, our museum began conversations with RCMP officials 15 years ago. It is very important that our museum now includes these RCMP divisional ensigns in our famous Canadian flag collection. We are the only civilian museum in Canada to have been officially gifted these flags. Due to their representation of official RCMP authority in Canada, they have never been used outside of the RCMP organization.”
Since the museum collects flags that represent all aspects of Canadian identity, Campbell said they’ve wanted to add these ensigns to their permanent collection for a long time.
“The main goals of our museum’s flag collection is to collect, display and educate visitors about our country’s use of flags as pop culture items,” he said. “We are excited to be home to this very unique and specialized national collection.”
When flags enter the Settlers, Rails & Trails collection, they are inspected and then digitally catalogued, labelled and photographed before going into special storage containers.
“Textiles require temperature and humidity controls, as well as protection from mould, insects and even tight folding or crushing over time. When on display, the flags are usually suspended from our specially designed T-bar system, which supports and displays items flat so they can be seen and enjoyed,” Campbell said.
“Flags are only on display for short periods of time and are never exposed to high UV light, wind or excessive handling. We never fly these special flags outdoors, and the display of these items by our museum is never an attempt to become representatives of those organizations.”
Now that the RCMP ensigns have been received, they will begin to plan for a future exhibition for 2027.
Meanwhile, their Canadian flag collection continues to grow.
“We are always looking for Canadian historic, corporate, regional, sport and special event flags which we do not already hold in our permanent collection,” Campbell said.
“We are pleased to note that flags have been gifted to our small museum from all across Canada and from Canadian embassies across the world. Our small community museum has a huge reach and continues to educate visitors from far and wide.”
For those looking to check out the current displays, the museum’s Treasures from the Vault Exhibition continues in the lower level of the Argyle Community Centre. It’s open the first Saturday of the month from 1 to 4 p.m., and admission is free.
Learn more about the volunteer-run museum at settlersrailsandtrails.com.
