Feds set to add Nunavut to Ottawa’s Centennial Flame

Nunavut’s emblem and official flower will soon be displayed on the Centennial Flame on the front lawn of the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa. (PHOTO COURTESY OF THE GOV. OF CANADA)

Nunavut will soon take its place on one of Canada’s landmarks in Ottawa—the Centennial Flame—which stands on the front lawn of the Parliament buildings in Ottawa.

As part of the 150th anniversary of Confederation, the Centennial Flame will be soon inscribed with the official symbols of Nunavut, the federal government recently announced.

This means that an extra panel will be added to the 12-sided structure, which will be deconstructed and rebuilt with 13 sides to accommodate the new symbols and the date of Nunavut’s creation, April 1, 1999.

The Centennial Flame displays bronze shields of each of the provinces and territories that existed in 1967, as well as the date each joined Confederation and their respective floral emblems.

The shield of Nunavut features an inuksuk, a qulliq, five gold circles representing the sun, and the North Star. Nunavut’s official territorial flower is purple saxifrage.

“By including the symbols of Nunavut, the Centennial Flame will now fully reflect Canada from coast to coast to coast. This beautiful territory may be the newest addition to Confederation, but its history and heritage run deep in our identity. This is a truly fitting way to mark Canada 150,” said Mélanie Joly, the minister of Canadian Heritage, in a news release.

While originally conceived as a project for 1967, the centennial year, the government later decided to retain and continue the flame.

An unveiling of the new, enlarged flame is scheduled for December 2017.