Pole installed for long-awaited Great Canadian Flag Project
It's five years in the making, but the massive Canadian flag project took important step forward Friday
The pole for the Great Canadian Flag Project was installed at the foot of Ouellette Avenue, along the city's waterfront Friday morning.
Work crews broke ground in February for the Great Canadian Flag Project. The massive flag that will eventually fly at the city's waterfront will stretch 18 metres by nine metres.
Base of massive flag pole being unloaded. <a href="https://t.co/Sq1Ns7b8CZ">pic.twitter.com/Sq1Ns7b8CZ</a>
—@Derek_SpaldingPeter Hrastovec, chairperson of the Great Canadian Flag Project that has been fundraising for five years to erect the massive flag, said raising the pole is a significant step forward.
Crews rolled the four sections of the pole on a flatbed trailer Friday morning before beginning the intricate process of erecting the pole piece by piece. When completed, the pole will tower 45 metres high, weighing more than 5,800 kilograms.
Two massive cranes were brought in to install the flag pole. The first section was slowly hoisted as organizers of the event looked on, smiling as their project finally took shape.
The project has received a host of donations, including $150,000 from the federal government and another $25,000 from the city, which agreed to erect the flag pole at the Dieppe Gardens site on the waterfront.
A total of $291,000 has been raised so far toward the final $355,000 goal, according to the project website.
