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Barrie, Ontario (Canada)

Simcoe County

3:5 (1:2 usage) image by Peter Orenski, 14 November 2012
based on research and information provided by James Croft and Kevin Harrington

Barrie
Current Flag
Former Flag
Coat of Arms
Barrie - fair trade city - flag
Barrie - Canada's Safest City
Police Service

See also:

Barrie

The City of Barrie (136,063 inhabitants in 2011; 7,698 ha) is located in southern Ontario. The town is named for Sir Raymond Barrie (1774-1841), a British officer of the Royal Navy noted for his service in the War of 1812, who was promoted to rear admiral in 1837.
Ivan Sache, 15 November 2012

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

On the flag of the City of Barrie, the upper fourth is red with three symbols in golden yellow with black details: a naval crown in the centre, a winged wheel on the left, and a cog wheel on the right. The lower three-fourths of the flag is white with three sets of wavy double-bands in dark blue. The bands have three rises and extend the full length of the flag.
Doreen Braverman, Canadian City Flags, Raven 18, 2011

Symbolism

Barrie is on the western shore of Lake Simcoe, on the old portage route between Lakes Superior and Huron. The naval crown alludes to the connection the city had not only with Sir Robert Barrie, for whom the city was named in 1833, but also the naval luminaries remembered in the names of the lake, the bay, and several streets in the city. The winged wheel represents transportation, recalling Barrie’s long-time role as a centre of transportation—beginning in the days of the War of 1812. The cog wheel represents the thriving secondary industry established in Barrie from its early times. The three waves were adopted from Sir Robert Barrie’s shield and allude to the city’s location on the waters of Kempenfelt Bay. The flag is a banner of the city’s arms.
Doreen Braverman, Canadian City Flags, Raven 18, 2011

Selection

The city council approved the coat of arms in November 1974, which was then granted to the city by the English Kings of Arms on 1 March 1977. The elements of the flag are the same as the shield on the coat of arms.
Doreen Braverman, Canadian City Flags, Raven 18, 2011

Designer

City Solicitor Osmond J. Rowe, who had designed Barrie’s coat of arms.
Doreen Braverman, Canadian City Flags, Raven 18, 2011

More about the flag

Photos of the flag:
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM391E_Municipal_Flag_Barrie_Ontario_Canada
http://www.waymarking.com/gallery/image.aspx?f=1&guid=6c8a0bbe-e6ee-4dfe-b456-b04f06adb8c8
Ivan Sache, 15 November 2012

Commodore Sir Robert Barrie was stationed in Kingston and commanded all the naval forces in Canada. On his annual inspections of the naval establishment at Penetanguishene, the portage passed through Barrie. In 1833, Lady Barrie wrote to relatives in England suggesting that Barrie would be a good place for them to settle in Canada. It seemed appropriate, therefore, that some element of Sir Barrie’s arms be incorporated into the flag.
Doreen Braverman, Canadian City Flags, Raven 18, 2011

Former Flag

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

Barrie previously used a flag with a blue field bearing its shield, crest, and wreath in gold, with CITY OF BARRIE arching above and INCORPORATED 1939 running horizontally below in serif letters of gold.
Doreen Braverman, Canadian City Flags, Raven 18, 2011

Coat of Arms

The flag is a banner of the municipal arms. The arms, supporters and badge of Barrie were registered in 20 January 2005 on the Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges, as follows:

"Arms
Argent three bars gemel wavy azure, on a chief gules a naval crown between a winged wheel and a cog wheel or;

Crest
Issuant from a mural crown gules, a mount vert thereon a mercat cross or;

Supporters
Dexter a private soldier in the uniform of the Canadian Army of the First World War standing easy with a rifle supported by the dexter hand, sinister the goddess Ceres proper vested argent wreathed about the temples with a garland of corn ears or, holding in the sinister hand a basket of fruit proper at the feet a garb or;

Motto
THE PEOPLE ARE THE CITY."

The announcement of the Letters Patent was made on March 12, 2005, in Volume 139, page 690 of the Canada Gazette. The recipient’s emblems were originally recorded in the records of the College of Arms, London, England, 1 March 1977.
http://archive.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/project.asp?lang=e&ProjectID=436&ShowAll=1 - Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindasgallery/6933622388 - Image of the arms
Ivan Sache, 15 November 2012

Barrie - fair trade city - flag

image contributed by Valentin Poposki, 9 December 2011

This flag can be seen in a photo at http://www.fairtradebarrie.com/gallery2011.html and http://www.fairtradebarrie.com/gallery/20110503-2l.jpg. It is the Fair Trade flag for the City of Barrie, Ontario.
Valentin Poposki, 9 December 2011

Barrie - Canada's Safest City

image by Randy Young, 16 March 2015

I came across another flag for Barrie. Apparently, in August 2014, Barrie was declared Canada's Safest City, and was presented with a special flag to denote that honor. The flag shows the "Safest City" seal with the city's name centered on a white field.
Randy Young, 16 March 2015

Police Service

image by Randy Young, 16 March 2015

The Barrie Police Service flag is the flash on a blue field: http://www.barriepolice.ca/sites/all/files/imagecache/photo_gallery_large/galleries/police_in_comm/flag_3.jpg. The flash is seen at http://www.cp24.com/polopoly_fs/1.1307449.1370180551!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_620/image.jpg
Dave Fowler, 15 March 2015

image by Randy Young, 16 March 2015

Just to make things complicated, here is a BPS flag with the service flash on a white field, with a gold fringe: http://www.barriepolice.ca/sites/all/files/imagecache/story_large2/Swearing%20in-10%20Dec%202008-914-0042b.JPG,
http://www.barriepolice.ca/sites/all/files/imagecache/story_large2/Group%20Photo.jpg
Dave Fowler, 16 March 2015

image by Randy Young, 16 March 2015

From Barrie Police website:
"The Power Of One Person To Make A Difference ... February 25th, 2015
This morning, the Barrie Police Service replaced their Barrie Police flag with a pink flag in support of ‘Pink Shirt Day’ and in support of
Anti-Bullying Awareness. ..."
http://www.barriepolice.ca/newsroom/2015/02/power-one-person-make-difference
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 16 March 2015