A new ban on foreign flags being flown at Toronto City Hall and civic centres will not prevent the Vatican flag from flying this year on Oct. 22 for Pope John Paul II, giving the previously suspended tradition new life one year after its controversial cancellation due to changes in the city's religious imagery policies. 

Toronto City Council voted 19-7 March 26 to approve an amended motion of Councillor Jon Burnside’s “One Country, One Flag, Celebrating the Canadian Flag”, which prohibits the flying of foreign national flags or any flags depicting a foreign nation’s flag on flagpoles at Toronto City Hall and civic centres, effective Dec. 1. 

The policy change came after debates over recent controversial flag-raisings at City Hall, including the Palestinian flag (Palestine is not officially a nation). All currently scheduled flag raisings are set to remain in place until Dec. 1, with council set to review the broader flag-raising and community recognition program in early 2027.  

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Burnside’s original motion, seconded by Councillor Michael Thompson, also recommended that City Council amend its flag-raising policy to eliminate the flying of flags requested by non-profit or charitable organizations on the courtesy flag poles at Toronto City Hall and civic centres effective immediately, while authorizing the continuation of the flags of Indigenous and Treaty partners, the Intersex Pride flag, the Black Liberation flag, the flags of professional sport organizations and the flags of cities that are part of the City’s International Alliance program as exceptions. Both elements were removed due to an amendment before the vote.

Vincent Crisanti was one of four councillors who voted against waiving the referral of the original motion. A main reasons behind that decision was the lingering thought of bringing back a historic flag-raising tradition coinciding with St. John Paul II Day. 

“ That was something we had been doing for years. It’s grandfathered, it’s something that is a wonderful thing to celebrate, and it does fall very much within the guidelines of the kind of celebrations we want to do with our flag raisings,” he told The Catholic Register. “ The motion that was on the floor of council was to stop all flag raisings, effective immediately. If they intended to do that, I was prepared to fight it publicly on the floor of council.

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“In my negotiations in the background with staff, I ended up getting what I thought was going to be the best deal for this year. Ultimately, the end result was a good result in that all flag raisings will continue to take place up until Dec. 1 before we review everything when the new recommendations come before council once again.”  

Still, the possibility of a raising of the Vatican flag, historically done on or around April 2 to commemorate St. John Paul II Day, remained up in the air. 

“What was not included, necessarily, was having the Vatican flag raised again. (They) had said no again officially this year via email, but I told them, ‘No, we are going to have a flag raising for the Vatican flag,' ” Crisanti said. 

The City of Toronto agreed to Crisanti’s wishes, with the councillor sharing that the city would hold a Vatican flag ceremony this year on Oct. 22, St. John Paul II’s Liturgical Feast Day, bringing the tradition back to Toronto after a year-long hiatus. 

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Former city councillor Chris Korwin-Kuczynski, who started the ceremony back in 2006, told the Register last year about his hopes for the event to return, hinting at a push to ensure last year’s decision would not be sustained and to “get back to a central place where Catholics from all different nationalities have the opportunity to come and recognize this special day.”