The Office of Ceremonies & Events is responsible for all aspects of the use of and the lowering of the Canadian and University flags on campus as required.
About the Lowering of the Flag
The University of Toronto Scarborough has three main flags in three locations on campus.
The Canadian flag is located atop of the science wing (SW), and is subject to specific protocol as dictated by the Canadian Government (Canadian Heritage).
The University of Toronto flags are situated in front of the Arts & Administration Building (AA), and the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre, and are subject to university protocol. On special occasions, the University of Toronto flag is replaced with other flags such as the Pride and Trans flags.
The Ceremonies Office arranges for the lowering of the flag for events such as the passing of a member of the campus community and occasions of national significance.
Effective April 23rd, 2020, all flag lowering announcements will be posted here. Notices will no longer be sent to campus via email.
The University of Toronto flag will fly at half-mast on Wednesday, October 12, 2022, in memory of Michael Tait, Professor of English Literature and Canadian Drama, and Dr. Gudrun Edith Lisbeth Curri, former UTSC Registrar.
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
For the first time, the Every Child Matters flag has been raised on all three campuses as part of our university-wide recognition of Orange Shirt Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. All flags will be lowered to half mast on September 30th to acknowledge this important day.
U of T mourns the death of Queen Elizabeth II, lowers flags to half-mast
The University of Toronto is mourning the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving monarch in British history, who visited the university on numerous occasions.
Flags on all three U of T campuses are being lowered to half-mast in memory of the Queen, who died Thursday at Balmoral Castle in Scotland at the age of 96. They will remain at half-mast until the day of her state funeral.
Pride and Trans flags are being raised on June 1st to celebrate Pride at U of T Scarborough (UTSC)
The More Colour, More Pride flag and the Trans flag will be flown on campus for the month of June to celebrate Pride at U of T Scarborough (UTSC).
For the fourth year, UTSC is proud to raise the More Colour, More Pride flag. This flag features the Pride colours to honour the experiences and resilience of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT+) people. The addition of black and brown stripes to center the experiences of Black, Indigenous and racialized people in the 2SLGBTQ+* community. This flag is an affirmation of UTSC’s commitment to being intentionally inclusive and representing more voices and experiences in the 2SLGBTQ+ community. Additionally, we raise the Trans Pride flag to represent 2-spirit, trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people.
Pride month is an opportunity to acknowledge the resilience, diversity and history of 2SLGBTQ+ communities. It is a time to celebrate and embrace the many ways that we and our fellow community members express our gender identities, sexual orientations, and relationships and kinship networks. It is also a time to recognize the diversity of 2SLGBTQ+ communities and to stand in solidarity with one another, recognizing that race, ethnicity, class, disability, and other aspects of identity influence and shape our experiences in the world. With this in mind, we affirm the importance of Pride as intersectional.
We encourage everyone to learn more about the history of Pride, which emerged in part as a resistance against police raids that targeted gay and lesbian spaces, most notably that of Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village in New York City in 1969. The need for Pride has also arisen from histories of systemic discrimination, harassment and oppression faced by 2SLGBTQ+ people in modern institutions and society. These injustices continue to give rise to resistance against oppression, and the advancement of 2SLGBTQIA+ rights locally and worldwide.
Pride is also a celebration; a time to celebrate the right to love, the diversity of gender and sexuality, and the overcoming of shame and stigma associated with gendered and sexual norms. Pride, therefore, is a time of protest and advocacy, as well as a time for celebration, learning, and ultimately about love.
Wednesday, June 1 at 12 p.m., everyone is welcome to join us for a special presentation and the raising of the Pride flags outside the Arts & Administration building at the U of T Scarborough campus. For any accessibility concerns, please contact beth.dean@utoronto.ca.
Contact edio.utsc@utoronto.ca with any questions about upcoming Pride initiatives at UTSC.
More Pride activities can be found at by visiting the uoft.me/pridecalendar and by visiting UTSC’s Pride Round-up here: https://utsc.utoronto.ca/news-events/pride-2022.
*2SLGBTQ+ is an acronym to refer to 2-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer identities. The + symbol is an intentional inclusion and acknowledgement of additional gender identities and sexual orientations. The 2S placed at beginning of the acronym is to acknowledge that 2-spirit people were the first people on Turtle Island to embrace and embody expansive concepts of gender and sexuality.
All flags on the three campuses will be lowered to half-mast on Wednesday, April 28, 2022 to observe the National Day of Mourning for workers killed or injured on the job
The National Day of Mourning, officially recognized by the federal government in 1991, is held annually on April 28 in approximately 100 countries around the world and has been adopted by the AFL-CIO and the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.
The University of Toronto will participate in this National Day of Mourning by lowering the flags in all locations across each campus, and through this act affirms its commitment to the promotion of health and safety for all members of the university community and to the provision of a safe and healthy work and study environment.