Canada – History and Facts of the Canadian Flag (1965)

Flag of Canada: History, Design, and Meaning

Design of the National Flag of Canada

The national flag of ‘The Maple Leaf’ flag has a proportion of 1:2. Apparently, the flag has three important parts:

• The red bands
• White square- the Canadian pale central band
• The 11-pointed Maple Leaf on the white square

The flag width is double the length containing three vertical bands- two red strips on either side with the white band at the center.

Lengthwise, the flag has a ratio of 1:2:1. This means, the two wide red stripes of equal dimensions lay vertically on both the hoist side and fly side of the flag. The middle part boasts the white square with the Maple leaf at the center. The width of the red stripes is half the width of the white square.

Colors, Symbolism, and Meaning of the Canadian Flag

While there is no official declaration about the meaning and significance of the flag design, there are certain illustrations that specifically point to the choice of this bi-color triband flag. In 1921, King George V declared the red and white hues the national colors of Canada bestowing symbolic representation of England and France respectively.

The red color apart from signifying England on the flag is also important in the country as it is the prime pigment on the maple leaves during the spring and autumn. The 11-pointed Maple leaf is popularly recognized as the symbol of national unity wherein each point represents the 10 Canadian provinces and one point for 3 territories.

Eminence of ‘The Maple Leaf’

Since the 18^th Century, the Maple Leaf has been observed as the national emblem in Canada. In 1867, Alexander Muir composed the famous inspirational patriotic song- “The Maple leaf forever”. The song soon became very popular among the English-speaking masses who started observing it as the unofficial national anthem.

After featuring on the coat of arms of Quebec and Ontario, this leaf eventually became the national symbol of the country in 1868. In 1921, the Maple leaf was added to the Canadian coat of arms. Today it appears on almost all logos of corporate organizations, NGOs, and others institutions in Canada.

The Maple trees have multipurpose significance in the life of Canadian people. Apart from being an important source of timber, it produces yummy sweet syrup. It conjures the early history of the country’s people and their ability to make the ‘wilderness’ a part of everyday life. From this viewpoint, the tree is considered to reward dedication and hard work.

There are about 10 different species of Maple trees found in different parts of the country. The Maple Leaf that features on the National Flag of Canada belongs to the Sugar Maple (Acer Saccharum), the most famous species of all Maple plants in Canada.

History of Flags in Canada

The use of flags in Canada dates back to the age of various colonial establishments in the country.

Flags in Use before the Act of Union (1840-41)

Flag of the Kingdom of Scotland (1286-1707)

The earliest evidence of hoisting flags as per the records is the flag of Scotland marking the Scottish colonization in the region. This royal blue (Pantone 300) field flag boasts the white diagonal cross extending to all four corners of the flag denoting the Saltire to represent Saint Andrew’s cross.

Flag of the Kingdom of England (1348-1701)

However, the most important incident of flag hoisting was upon the arrival of the Italian explorer and navigator John Cabot in Newfoundland in 1497. He flew a white field flag of England bearing the red Saint George’s cross.

Era of French Flags (1534-1801)

In 1534, the Breton explorer, Jacques Cartier lodged the first-ever French flag in the Gaspe Peninsula. This flag featured the golden fleurs-de-lis with the royal coat of arms of France on the white background. During this time the French naval flag boasting a white cross on the red field was hoisted on his ship. The French military flags were used in New France-the French Colony in Canada.

Union Flag/Union Jack- The de jure Flag of Canada (1621-1965)

Soon after the establishment of the British colonial settlement in Nova Scotia in 1621, the different flags of England came to use in the country. Eventually, the Union Jack was declared the de jure flag of Canada around 1801. This flag was largely in use in the entire nation even after the country gained independence from the rule of the United Kingdom in 1931 until the official adoption of the Maple Leaf Flag in 1965.

Pursuit for an Official Canadian Flag

The urge for a national flag for the country started gaining movement soon after the Canadian Confederation in 1867. Several flags came into existence during this period especially for use in government institutions and provinces.

During this period, the country used the flag of the Governor-General of Canada. It had a complicated design featuring the Union Jack with a shield in the center surrounded by a garland of green maple leaves. The shield boasted the quartered coat of arms of Quebec, New Brunswick, Ontario, and Nova Scotia.

Canadian Red Ensign- 1870

Initially, the red ensign was not officially adopted. However, it was largely in use at the sea and land since 1870. The flag had a red field featuring the Union Jack on the upper canton on the hoist side and the composite shield with arms of provinces on the fly side. The representation of arms was changed from time to time as more and more provinces started joining the Confederation.

Considering the widespread usage and acceptance, the red ensign was officially approved by the British admiralty in 1892 for use at sea. Alongside, it was used as the civil ensign until the adoption of the new ensign in 1921. The same year, the shield with the coat of arms of the provinces was replaced by the coat of arms of Canada. It also served as the informal flag of the country until the adoption of the present flag in 1965. It gained unofficial prominence and consideration as the national flag during World War II.

Great Canadian Flag Debate

The first-ever initiative, to create a design for the national flag of the country, was taken by Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King in 1925. He created a flag committee for this purpose. Unfortunately, the committee was disseminated before it could deliver the final report or propose any suggestions.

Despite the dissolution of the committee, the flag movement took the center stage wherein the proposed designs started appearing in 1927, 1931, and 1939. The emergence of various designs led to the contradiction of opinions raising a point of debate in the nation. The intensified situation finally resulted in the landmark event- called the Great Flag Debate of 1964 in the history of Canada.

After gaining power as the Prime Minister in 1963, Lester B. Pearson took efforts to adopt a national flag through parliamentary debate. A bench of 15-member flag committee comprising of the members of the parliament was formed in 1963. From thousands of designs, three designs were selected by the flag committee for the final selection round:

1. Pearson Pennant

This design was created by the heraldic advisor and Pearson’s close associate Alan Beddoe. It was a tricolor flag with two vertical blue bands of equal size (representing the sea borders of the country) on the hoist and fly side. The central part had a white field with three conjoined maple leaves.

2. Canadian Flag with Representation of England and France

This design is quite similar to the present-day national flag of Canada with the representation of the Union Jack on the upper part of the red band on the hoist side and three fleurs-de-lys on the blue field at the top part of the fly side to signify England and France respectively on the flag.

3. The Maple Leaf Flag by George Stanley

This is the design of the present-day Canadian flag. However, the committee proposed to change Stanley’s original 13-pointed maple leaf design.

The Present Day Maple Leaf Flag

After changing the maple leaf to an 11-pointed version for enhanced clarity, this flag was officially adopted and is still in use.