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Two Toronto councillors have brought forward a motion to ban raising foreign flags at Toronto City Hall and civic centres.<\/p>\n
The motion, titled \u201cOne Country, One Flag,\u201d<\/a> was proposed by Coun. Jon Burnside and includes other amendments to the city\u2019s current flag policy \u2014 which was adopted in 1999.<\/p>\n It recommends that the city also no longer raise flags of or requested by non-profit or charitable organizations and for staff to review the policy by early 2027.\u00a0 Council will consider the motion next week.<\/p>\n The motion was inspired by not wanting to make the city a \u201cdivisive\u201d place, said Coun. Michael Thompson, who seconded the motion.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of geopolitical issues around the world and we\u2019re being asked to take sides,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s our business.\u201d<\/p>\n By choosing to fly certain flags, it looks like the city is taking a position in conflicts that \u201cwe don\u2019t know anything about,\u201d said Thompson.<\/p>\n Instead, he said, council should focus on fixing local issues, like homelessness, snow clearance and transportation.<\/p>\n He said the city has been asked to raise various global flags, including some allegedly \u201cnot sanctioned flags.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCouncil is not the place to negotiate or to be involved in geopolitical issues and conflicts around the world,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Thompson added the motion will also help \u201creduce the temperature\u201d and division that\u2019s stemmed from global issues reaching local Toronto communities. He did not expand on what communities or issues he was referring to.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of what we’re seeing coming out of these flag issues revolves around hate,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we should be doing is encouraging Torontonians and people who live in our city to get along, to work together and to remove hate.\u201d<\/p>\n WATCH | Calgary city council narrowly passed a similar motion in December: International flags now banned outside city hall<\/p>\n In a tight vote Tuesday, Calgary city council has agreed to ban raising flags from other countries. CBC’s Brendan Coulter reports on what’s behind the decision.<\/p>\n The motion lists several flags that would still be allowed to fly at City Hall and city ceremonies, including:<\/p>\n City of Toronto flag, Canadian flag and flags of provinces and territories.The flags of Indigenous and Treaty partners.The Intersex Pride flag.The Black Liberation flag.Flags of professional sports organizations.Flags of cities that are part of Toronto\u2019s International Alliance program.<\/p>\n The city\u2019s current flag policy allows, upon request, the raising of flags of Global Affairs Canada recognized nations and flags of a non-profit organization.<\/p>\n Toronto\u2019s motion echoes a similar motion that narrowly passed in Calgary<\/a> in December to end the practice of raising flags of other nations at city hall.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774113746_768_default.jpg\")
Coun. Michael Thompson seconded the motion and felt it was necessary to stop Toronto from becoming a “divisive” place. (Michael Aitkens\/CBC)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774113746_517_default.jpg\")
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