Flag of Canada

The Canadian national flag consists of a red field with a large white square at its center. Featured at the center of this square is a stylized 11-pointed red maple leaf. The flag is also known as the “Maple Leaf” and by its French name, l'Unifolié, which translates to “the one-leaf”.

Specifications

Flag Specifications

The Canadian flag has a proportion of 1:2. At its center is a white Canadian pale, which is a square central band in a vertical triband and covers half the length of the flag. Bordering the Canadian pale on each side is a red field (roughly half the size of the pale).

In the center of the white field is a red maple leaf. The points on the leaf do not hold any significant value, unlike the Australian Commonwealth Star that represents the six Australian states and its territories. Earlier versions of the Canadian flag showed differing maple leaf points. Some had thirteen or fifteen maple leaf points. Earlier maple leaf versions of the Canadian Red ensign had more than thirty points and a short stem when shown by it.

Maple Leaf specifications

The current number and arrangement of the maple leaf points were chosen after the wind tunnel pests were performed. The test determined which design showed less blurriness in high-wind conditions. The present image of the maple leaf on the flag was designed by Jacques Saint-Cyr.

Color

Red and white was proclaimed as the official colors of Canada by King George V in 1921. Red was hailed from St. George’s Cross while white came from the French royal emblem used since King Charles VII.

The following list of ink specifications were set by the Department of Canadian Heritage for the proper printing and reproducing of the shades of the flag. These were the following:

Symbolism

The maple leaf has long been an important national symbol of Canada. It has been described as the “king of the Canadian forests”. Since the beginning of the 18 th century, the Canadians living along the Saint Lawrence River have adopted the maple leaf as their emblem. Its popularity with the French-Canadians grew at the inaugural meeting of the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste. By 1868, the maple leaf had been incorporated in the coat of arms of both Ontario and Quebec. It was added in the Canadian coat of arms in 1921.

The present design featured on the flag is that of a generic maple leaf that represents the ten native species of maple trees in Canada.

History

Before the adoption of the Maple Leaf, the Canadian Red Ensign was informally used to represent Canada since the late 19 th century. It was approved in 1945 by the Governor General of Canada through an Order-in-Council which declared it a distinctive Canadian flag. Although officially used by the federal government, the Red Ensign was not adopted as official by the Parliament of Canada.

In 1964, the Prime Minister appointed a 15-member multi-party parliamentary committee to select a new design for the national flag of Canada. The committee chose the design created by George F.G. Stanley whose design was inspired by the flag of the Royal Military College of Canada.

The committee gave its unanimous approval on October 29, 1964 and was later passed by a majority vote by the House of Commons on December 15, 1964. It was approved by the Senate two days later.

The Maple Leaf was proclaimed by Queen Elizabeth II on January 28, 1965 and was later inaugurated on February 15, 1965.


Copyright 2008 Flags of the World | Privacy Policy