[1] Scott Brison, then the Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, officially renamed the park.

The site was once part of the Nicholas Sparks (1794-1862) estate, a combination of swamp and wild forest bought by the major Bytown landlord and philanthropist in 1826.

[4] 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.

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.

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.