The garden was first envisioned by Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King and the French urbanist, Jacques Gréber, at a meeting at the 1937 Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne in Paris.
It was formally proposed in the 1950 Gréber Plan.
The modernist garden was designed in 1960 by Don W. Graham, and was built in anticipation of Canada's upcoming centennial.
A 6 cent centennial stamp commemorates the garden with Queen Elizabeth in the foreground.

The creation of the garden is associated with a rising sense of provincial identity in the early sixties which manifested as the creation of informal flags.
When the garden was under development not all provinces had formal flags, but they did have arms.
Four of the provinces appealed in favour of their formal flag, but this plan was rejected.
The original flags which were displayed showed the shield of each province on a coloured field, and included the Yukon and the Northwest Territories despite their lack of provincial status.
These flags were flown until sometime in the 1970s.


The renaming ceremony in October 2005 was also the reopening of the Garden after years of rehabilitation, such as restoring the signature tree-shaped metal fountain, upgrading the water supply, extensive stonework repairs, new access ramps, and updating the provincial and territorial Coat of Arms.
The garden was first envisioned by Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King and the French urbanist, Jacques Gréber, at a meeting at the 1937 Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne in Paris. It was formally proposed in the 1950 Gréber Plan. The modernist garden was designed in 1960 by Don W. Graham, and was built in anticipation of Canada's upcoming centennial. A 6 cent centennial stamp commemorates the garden with Queen Elizabeth in the foreground.
The creation of the garden is associated with a rising sense of provincial identity in the early sixties which manifested as the creation of informal flags. When the garden was under development not all provinces had formal flags, but they did have arms. Four of the provinces appealed in favour of their formal flag, but this plan was rejected. The original flags which were displayed showed the shield of each province on a coloured field, and included the Yukon and the Northwest Territories despite their lack of provincial status. These flags were flown until sometime in the 1970s.

The renaming ceremony in October 2005 was also the reopening of the Garden after years of rehabilitation, such as restoring the signature tree-shaped metal fountain, upgrading the water supply, extensive stonework repairs, new access ramps, and updating the provincial and territorial Coat of Arms.
Garden of the Provinces and Territories