Flag of Canada

Quick Facts: Who was Flag of Canada?

Subject:

Flag of Canada

Known for:

Canada's national symbol, featuring a red maple leaf on a white square.

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2Day Chrono-Wiki & Primary Historical Archives

Origins & Early Life

The national flag of Canada, popularly referred to as the Maple Leaf, consists of a red field with a white square at its centre in the horizontal ratio of 1∶2∶1, in which is featured one stylized, red, 11-pointed maple leaf charged in the centre. It is the first flag to have been adopted by both houses of Parliament and officially proclaimed by the Canadian monarch as the country's official national flag. The flag has become the predominant and most recognizable national symbol of Canada. In 1964, Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson formed a committee to resolve the ongoing issue of the lack of an official Canadian flag, sparking a debate about a flag change to replace the Union Flag. Out of three choices, the maple leaf design by Mount Allison University historian George Stanley, based on the flag of the Royal Military College of Canada, was selected.

Career & Major Achievements

The flag officially appeared on February 15, 1965; the date is now celebrated annually as National Flag of Canada Day. Before 1965, the Canadian Red Ensign had been in unofficial use since the 1860s and was later officially approved by a 1945 Order in Council for use "wherever place or occasion may make it desirable to fly a distinctive Canadian flag". Also, the Royal Union Flag remains an official flag in Canada, to symbolize Canada's allegiance to the monarch and membership in the Commonwealth of Nations. There is no law dictating how the national flag is to be treated, but there are conventions and protocols to guide how it is to be displayed and its place in the order of precedence of flags, which gives it primacy over the aforementioned and most other flags. Many different flags created by Canadian officials, government bodies, and military forces contain the maple leaf motif in some fashion, either by having the Canadian flag charged in the canton or by including maple leaves in the design.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

The Canadian flag also appears on the government's wordmark. The flag is horizontally symmetric, so the obverse and reverse sides appear identical. The width of the Maple Leaf flag is twice the height. The white field is a Canadian pale (a central band occupying half the width of a vertical triband flag, rather than a third of the width, named for its use in this flag); each bordering red field is exactly half its size and it bears a stylized red maple leaf at its centre. In heraldic terminology, the flag's blazon as outlined on the original royal proclamation is "gules on a Canadian pale argent a maple leaf of the first".

Chronological Milestones & Life Events

1. 1965: 1965 Milestone — The flag officially appeared on February 15, 1965; the date is now celebrated annually as National Flag of Canada Day.

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Flag of Canada

True or False: “The Maple Leaf flag was officially adopted as Canada's national flag in 1867.”

Answer (FALSE ❌): While the maple leaf gained prominence earlier, the current design was officially proclaimed on February 15, 1965.

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• Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi — Historical peer (Born in 1945) (1945): Yemeni politician who served as the second President of Yemen from 2012 to 2022.
• Adolf Hitler — Historical peer (Died in 1945) (1945): Austrian-born German politician who became dictator of Germany during the Nazi era.

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