This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website

Altona, Manitoba (Canada)

Last modified: 2021-07-17 by rob raeside
Keywords: altona | wheat sheaf | iron bar |
Links: FOTW homepage | search | disclaimer and copyright | write us | mirrors



[Altona Manitoba] image by Masao Okazaki, 24 June 2021

See also:


Description of the flag

Altona held a flag contest in early 2020 which received "more than 30" entries. A winner was quickly selected, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic the unveiling ceremony was postponed until June 2021.

The flag above is from the article below.

From the FB page about the official raising: https://www.facebook.com/townofaltona/posts/985368602232810
Video about the flag: https://www.facebook.com/433596497410026/videos/834031350554660
Text from the newspaper article: "Altona's New Flag Designed by A New Canadian Citizen," Pembina Valley Online
https://www.pembinavalleyonline.com/local/altona-s-new-flag-designed-by-a-new-canadian-citizen:

Altona's new flag was unveiled to the public on Wednesday. The flag incorporates the representation of a sunflower on a sky blue background and was generated through a flag redesign contest to mark Altona's 125th anniversary.

The contest winner of that design was Edward Vincent Arcenal, one of the town's newest Canadian citizens who immigrated from The Philippines. He says the colours of the flag have symbolic meaning about Altona as a community. "The blue represents the peacefulness in the town, the heaven that you can see all around. It also symbolizes trust. The yellow represents the energy of the people."

In Arcenal's submission, the bright gold sunflower image marks Altona’s status as the Sunflower Capital of Canada and its modern design symbolizes Altona as a progressive community that looks towards the future. The ascending petals represent the economic growth of the community and are designed as slightly different shapes and are close together, to symbolize the town's cultural diversity and the importance of community. "For three days I walked around and actually observed the people and the thing I noticed that the people are very friendly and hospitable and all smiles. So, I based my design from that."

As part of the unveiling ceremony on Wednesday, Arcenal and Mayor Al Friesen hoisted the banner up a new flag pole in front of the Altona Civic Centre. Arecenal was asked how it feels to see his flag alongside the Canadian and Manitoba flags. "It feels amazing. It's sort of a mixture of excitement and happiness because I know in the future it will be flying in Altona and be used for years." Mayor Friesen says he was impressed with how quickly Vincent was able to get a sense of his new home. "I'm very happy with it. It is fresh, it's clear and it's easy to understand and it ties in with who we aspire to be as a community and as a people."

The Celebrate Altona committee received over 30 flag design submissions for the contest and about 95% of those designs incorporated a representation of a sunflower while about two-thirds included the colour blue to signify the prairie sky.
Masao Okazaki, 24 June 2021

Previous Flag

[Altona Manitoba] image located by Valentin Poposki, 8 April 2010

The Town of Altona, Manitoba, has two flags - one for normal use and one centennial flag, both designed and adopted during centennial celebration in 1995. They are of almost identical design. Both flags have a big sunflower in black and yellow near the hoist, taking approximately one third of the length of the flag. On the rest of the white background is written "ALTONA", but A is described: "The stylized "A" in Altona represents as follows: The curved portion that leans over and crosses the right leg of the "A" is a wheat sheaf which represents the agricultural part of the area. The right leg of the "A" is an iron bar representing industry in the area. When these two (Wheat Sheaf & Iron Bar) come together they form the stylized "A" in the Altona on the flag." The centennial flag has additional "1895-1995" below the name of the town. Information for the both flags courtesy by Larry Driedger, CMMA, Secretary-Treasurer, Town of Altona.

Valentin Poposki, 7 October 2009


Centennial Flag

[Altona Manitoba] image located by Valentin Poposki, 8 April 2010