Half-Masting of Flags
Wheatland County owns and proudly displays the National Flag of Canada, Provincial Flag of Alberta, and Wheatland County flag at our administration office. Flags may be lowered to half-mast to commemorate special dates such as Remembrance Day or as a measure of respect and condolence when a high profile official passes away.
The half-masting of national flags is a well-established procedure whereby countries bestow an honour and express a collective sense of sorrow. Given that such flags are recognized as paramount symbols of their nations, the act of half-masting is a dramatic visual statement that speaks to the sense of loss that is shared by all their citizens.
Mandatory Half-masting
Flags must be Half-Masted as soon as possible upon notification of the death until sunset on the day of the funeral or memorial service for the following persons:
- The Sovereign, the Sovereign’s spouse, the Heir to the Throne, or the Heir to the Heir of the Throne;
- Current or former Prime Minister;
- Current or former Governor General;
- Current Chief Justice of Canada and current Member of the Canadian Ministry;
- Current Lieutenant Governor;
- Privy Councillors and Senators
- Current local Member of the Federal or Provincial Parliaments;
- Current or former Premier of Alberta;
- Accredited Heads of Mission to Canada while in Canada.
Notwithstanding the above, when a funeral or memorial service will not be scheduled within two weeks of the notification of death, Flags may be lowered to Half-Mast for a period of at least 72 hours and then again on the date of the funeral or memorial service from sunrise to sunset.
Special Days
In additions, flags must be flown at Half-Mast from sunrise to sunset to commemorate the following occasions:
- For exceptional circumstances under the Discretionary Authority the Prime Minister;
- The National Day of Remembrance of the Battle of Vimy Ridge (April 9);
- Day of Mourning for Persons Killed or Injured in the Workplace – Workers’ Mourning Day (April 28);
- National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism (June 23);
- Firefighters’ National Memorial Day (second Sunday in September)
- Police and Peace Officers’ National Memorial Day (last Sunday in September);
- Remembrance Day (November 11);
- National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women (December 6).
Local Half-masting
In addition to the previously mentioned occasions, the Wheatland County Flag has also been lowered in the following circumstances:
- January 8, 2020 – in memory of the victims of the plane crash in Tehran, Iran.
- September 16, 2019 – for the loss of a former Division 3 Wheatland County Councillor.
- July 29, 2019 – for the loss of a local volunteer firefighter that served both Rockyford and Wheatland County.
- April 10, 2018 – in honour of the lives lost in the Humboldt Broncos’ bus accident.
- October 19, 2017 – for the loss of a volunteer firefighter from Cypress Hills.
- October 4, 2017 – To mark the tragic events that took place in Las Vegas.