The , popularly known as the '''Maple Leaf''' and '''l'Unifolié''' (
French for "the one-leafed"), is a base red
Flag with a white square in its centre featuring a stylized, 11-pointed, red
Maple Leaf . Before this flag,
Canada used variants of the
British Red Ensign with the shield of Canada charged in the fly. The Red Ensign that took familiar shape in Canada was introduced by
Prime Minister Mackenzie King after the
First World War . From the 1940s until 1965, Canada made several attempts to create its own flag by holding national contests, but the Red Ensign still flew for Canada. A serious
Debate About A Flag Change did not occur until 1964, when a committee was picked by Prime Minister
Lester B. Pearson . Out of three choices, the maple leaf design by
George F.G. Stanley was chosen as the winner. The current flag was adopted in 1964. The flag made its first appearance on
February 15 ,
1965 , which is now celebrated annually as
Flag Day .
Other than the Maple Leaf flag, several other flags have been created to be used by Canadian officials, government bodies, and military forces. Most of these flags contain the Maple Leaf motif in some fashion; either by having the Canadian flag charged in the canton or by inclusion of maple leaves in the design.
The , the
Provincial Flag (a blue cross with four
Fleurs-de-lis ) is often considered a national flag along with the Maple Leaf flag, as is the
Acadian flag in the Acadian regions of the
Maritime Provinces .
''Flag and emblems of Québec, An Act respecting the''; R.S.Q. D-12.1
See Also: Maple leaf
, located at
Halifax ,
Nova Scotia ]]
The current flag of Canada was approved by the
House Of Commons on
December 15 ,
1964 , and by the
Senate two days later. The flag was later approved by
Queen Elizabeth II , the
Queen Of Canada , an order which took effect on
February 15 ,
1965 .
Department of Canadian Heritage: Birth of the Canadian Flag The national flag is also employed as the naval ensign for Canadian ships and military vessels.
In 1921, King
George V proclaimed the official colours of Canada as red, from
Saint George's Cross , and white, from the
French royal emblem since King
Charles VII .
As early as 1700, the maple leaf served as a symbol celebrating the nature and environment of what is now Canada. The number of points on the leaf has no significance; they do not, for instance, represent the ten provinces plus one point for the territories such as the Australian
Commonwealth Star denotes. In fact, some of the very first Canadian flags made had maple leaves of variously 13 and 15 points or more. The points of the maple leaf were determined by taking various designs and putting them in a wind tunnel to see what looks the best while moving.
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The length of the flag is twice the width of the flag. The white field is a
Canadian Pale (a square central band in a vertical triband flag, named after this flag), and each bordering red field is exactly half its size.
The
Department Of Canadian Heritage has listed the various colour shades that should be used when reproducing the Canadian flag, these include:
- Printing Ink
- ---FIP red: General Printing Ink, No. 0-712;
- ---Inmont Canada Ltd., No. 4T51577;
- ---Monarch Inks, No. 62539/0
- ---Rieger Inks, No. 25564
- ---Sinclair and Valentine, No. RL163929/0.
