Canada flag is the national flag of Canada, the nation that stretches across the northern part of North America. The flag features a red maple leaf on a large white square. On each side of the white square is a vertical red stripe. Each red stripe is half as wide as the white square. The design became Canada’s official flag in 1965.
British and French colonists began to settle in Canada during the 1600’s. At that time, colonists used flags from their home countries to mark territorial claims. A widely used French flag, based on the French royal banner, was white with three gold fleur-de-lis (flower designs resembling an iris). British colonists flew the British flag, commonly known as the Union Jack (or Union Flag).
From 1689 to 1763, the French and British fought a series of wars that ended with Britain (now also known as the United Kingdom) gaining control of the French empire in America. The Union Jack became the flag of all Britain’s colonies in what is now Canada.
In 1867, the United Kingdom passed an act uniting four of its Canadian colonies as the Dominion of Canada. The Union Jack was the Dominion’s official flag.
Soon, Canadian ships began to fly a flag called the Canadian Red Ensign. An ensign is a flag flown by naval vessels. Some British vessels at the time flew an ensign that was red with the Union Jack in its canton (upper corner near the flagpole). The Canadian Red Ensign followed this design, but added a shield representing Canada on the fly (outer) end of the flag. The shield featured the coats of arms of Canada’s four original provinces—New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec. As additional provinces joined the Dominion, Canadians added symbols of those provinces to the shield. Eventually, some Canadians began to fly the flag unofficially on land.
In 1921, a royal proclamation made red and white Canada’s national colors. The proclamation also established an official Canadian coat of arms. The new coat of arms replaced the shield on the Canadian Red Ensign. In 1924, the Canadian government authorized the use of the Canadian Red Ensign on Canadian government buildings outside of Canada.
Canada gained independence in 1931. However, the British monarch remained Canada’s official head of state. The Union Jack remained the chief flag flown in Canada.
In 1945, the Canadian government approved the use of the Canadian Red Ensign on federal buildings within Canada. However, it did not adopt a new official flag. Some Canadians wanted the Union Jack to be Canada’s national flag. Some preferred the Canadian Red Ensign. Still others wanted a new flag.
In 1964, a committee in the Canadian House of Commons met to develop a new flag. Maple leaves, long a symbol of Canada, were part of several proposed designs. They already appeared on the national coat of arms and several provincial coats of arms.
A historian named George F. G. Stanley suggested the red-and-white design with a single, central leaf. The Canadian Parliament approved the design in December 1964. The British queen officially proclaimed the Maple Leaf Flag as Canada’s national flag on Jan. 28, 1965. The flag was raised for the first time on Feb. 15, 1965.
