Hardware

CANADIAN FLAG

Canada

Name	The Canadian Flag The Maple Leaf l’Unifolié (French)
Use	National flag, civil and state ensign
Proportion	1∶2
Adopted	February 15, 1965; 57 years ago
Design	A vertical triband of red (hoist-side and fly-side) and white (double width) with the red maple leaf centred on the white band.
Designed by	George F. G. Stanley

The national flag of Canada (French: le Drapeau national du Canada),^[1] often simply referred to as the Canadian flag or, unofficially, as the Maple Leaf or l’Unifolié (French: [l‿ynifɔlje]; lit. ’the one-leafed’), consists of a red field with a white square at its centre in the ratio of 1∶2∶1, in which is featured a stylized, red, 11-pointed maple leaf charged in the centre.^[2] 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.^[3] 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 serious debate about a flag change to replace the Union Flag. Out of three choices, the maple leaf design by George Stanley,^[4] based on the flag of the Royal Military College of Canada, was selected. The flag made its first official appearance on February 15, 1965; the date is now celebrated annually as National Flag of Canada Day.

The Canadian Red Ensign was in unofficial use since the 1860s and officially approved by a 1945 Order in Council for use “wherever place or occasion may make it desirable to fly a distinctive Canadian flag”.^[5][6] 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.^[7] 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 for use 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. The Canadian flag also appears on the government’s wordmark.

The flag is horizontally symmetric and therefore 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);^[8] each bordering red field is exactly half its size^[9] 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”.^[10][12]

The maple leaf has been used as a Canadian emblem since the 18th century.^[13] It was first used as a national symbol in 1868 when it appeared on the coat of arms of both Ontario and Quebec.^[14] In 1867, Alexander Muir composed the patriotic song “The Maple Leaf Forever“, which became an unofficial anthem in English-speaking Canada.^[15] The maple leaf was later added to the Canadian coat of arms in 1921.^[14] From 1876 until 1901, the leaf appeared on all Canadian coins and remained on the penny after 1901.^[16] The use of the maple leaf by the Royal Canadian Regiment as a regimental symbol extended back to 1860.^[17] During the First World War and Second World War, badges of the Canadian Forces were often based on a maple leaf design.^[18] The maple leaf would eventually adorn the tombstones of Canadian military graves.^[19]

Arms of Ontario

Arms of Quebec

Maple leaves have been used on arms of Ontario and Quebec’s since 1868.

By proclaiming the Royal Arms of Canada, King George V in 1921 made red and white the official colours of Canada; the former came from Saint George’s Cross and the latter from the French royal emblem since King Charles VII.^[20] These colours became “entrenched” as the national colours of Canada upon the proclamation of the Royal Standard of Canada (the Canadian monarch’s personal flag) in 1962.^[21] The Department of Canadian Heritage has listed the various colour shades for printing ink that should be used when reproducing the Canadian flag; these include:^[9]

WE CAN PROVIDE YOUR CANADIAN FLAG IN MANY SIZE