Last modified: 2002-04-12 by phil nelson
Keywords: canada | british commonwealth | maple | maple leaf | leaf: maple |
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![[Flag of Canada]](../images/c/ca.gif)
by Antonio Martins
Proportions: 1:2 ![[FIS Code]](../misc/fissumry.gif)
The Canadian National Flag was adopted by the Canadian Parliament on October 22, 1964 and was proclaimed into law by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II (the Queen of Canada) on February 15, 1965. The Canadian Flag (colloquially known as The Maple Leaf Flag) is a red flag of the proportions two by length and one by width, containing in its centre a white square, with a single red stylized eleven-point maple leaf centred in the white square.
The colours red and white used in the Canadian flag are the same as those colours used in the Union Flag (of the UK). Red and white are the national colours of Canada since 1921 (when they were proclaimed by King George V on the recommendation of the Canadian Governmant). The heraldic description of the Canadian National Flag is : Gules on a Canadian pale argent a maple leaf of the first.
Philatellists will note the issue of a Canadian stamp commemorating the 30th. Anniversery of the National flag on May 1, 1995.
Sources (of this item and the following ones):
Department of the Secretary of State of Canada, The Arms, Flag and Emblems of Canada, 1984
Department of the Secretary of State for Canada, Canada: Symbols of Nationhood, 1988
Bruce Peel "Emblems of Canada: Flag" The Canadian Encyclopedia, Hurtig Publishers: Edmonton, 1988.
Peter Cawley - 25 May 1995
Is there a "standard" which governs how any flag in this country can be reproduced as, say, a "lapel pin", a "badge", etc.?
Your assistance in this regard would be greatly appreciated.
Mary E. Harris - 05 December 1997
There are standards available from the Standards Council of Canada <http://www.scc.ca/> for making the National Flag of Canada from fabric, but I don't know of any standards for lapel pins.
CAN/CGSB-98.3-M91 National Flag of Canada (One-Event-Only Use)
CAN/CGSB-98.2-92 National Flag of Canada (Indoor Use)
CAN/CGSB-98.1-92 National Flag of Canada (Outdoor Use)
You would probably have to research the individual laws and proclamations that established the flags to find their exact designs and colour specifications.
If you're asking about the etiquette of flags as lapel pins, the National Flag, the provincial flags, and the territorial flags are royal symbols. Therefore, when an individual wears one of them as a badge, he or she is proclaiming his or her loyalty to the sovereign authority--the Crown--and not to government of the day, the land, the Constitution, or the people. A National Flag badge also proclaims Canadian nationality, and a provincial or territorial flag badge proclaims a close association (residency, origin, etc.) with the province or territory.
When an agent of the Crown wears such a badge, it is a symbol of that portion of the Crown's authority that has been delegated to him or her. Many countries have separate symbols for the two purposes (loyalty and authority), but in Canada they are the same. Perhaps this is comment on the spirit of democracy in Canada.
Dean Tiegs - 06 Dece,ber 1997
This comes from a daily vignette on local radio "This Day in History".
Rob Raeside - 21 August 1998On 21 August, 1860, the Prince of Wales was visiting Canada (i.e. Ontario and Quebec at that time, I assume) - the first real royal visit. People lined the streets of Toronto to see him - those of English origin wore a rose, the Scots wore a thistle, but what were the Canadian-born to wear? Canada's emblem had long been the beaver. 26 years earlier the Saint Jean Baptiste Society in Quebec had adopted the maple leaf as its symbol (apparently the first time the maple leaf was used as a symbol), and it was decreed that for the prince's visit the Canadians should wear a maple leaf. The idea took root.
In 1867 as Canada was becoming a country, a call was put out to write a patriotic song. Whatever song was chosen has since been lost to history, but the second place winner was Alexander Muir who wrote "The Maple Leaf for Ever", a song which became very popular, although today is downplayed a lot as it is not inclusive of the French Canadians.
In World War 1, Lester Pearson noted that almost every batallion from Canada included the maple leaf in its insignia, and vowed he would campaign to put it on the flag, and of course 50 years later as prime minister of Canada he was part of the 33-day debate that resulted in the maple leaf as the Canadian flag.
The Pearson Pennant shows three leaves on one stem.
So do the Coat-of-Arms of Ontario (also on the flag) and Quebec.
(editor's note)
Why three leaves on a single stem. While I can't claim to be a vexill-botonist, I am unaware of any maple tree that has three leaves on a single stem. Is there a hidden meaning to the three or just artistic license?
Nathan Bliss - 17 August 1998
True. This is impossible, because maple leaves always grow two by two, opposed on a branch, like this:
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So the arms of Canada, Quebec and Ontario are not botanically correct, so to speak. Whether this is a problem or not is debatable, because a dragon doeasn't exist, so one could argue that the flag of Wales isn't zoologicaly correct! But of course, the three arms cited above are meant to represent a certain reality, unlike the flag of Wales, so...
> Is there a hidden meaning to the three or just artistic license?
Not officially, but we could suppose that there was a certain religious intent behind this decision.
Luc-Vartan Baronian - 17 August 1998
I think it was more because it fits the base of a shield well.
Andrew Young - 18 August 1998
It occured to me that I have never heard of a nickname in English for the Canadian flag, like the Stars and Stripes, Le Tricolore, or the like. Does it have one ?
The French nickname for the Canadian flag is L'Unifolié, which means the one-leafed.
Luc Baronian - 23 July 1997
It's simply called the Maple Leaf.
Rob Raeside - 23 July 1997
If the ten points on the maple leaf on the Canadian Flag represent the ten provinces, and territories, what does the eleventh point on the maple leaf represent?
a Frequently Asked Question
I looked into this once myself and found out that the number of points on the leaf and the number of anything else was just a happy coincidence.
R. Nathan Bliss - 16 January 1998
Common "urban legend". Nope, the number of points on the maple leaf is pure coincidence, perhaps this way of thinking may come from one of the most famous flags, the American Stars & Stripes, where we all know that the 50 stars stand for 50 states, but the 11 points on the leaf are just coincdental - if we got 5 more provinces, say, can you imagine a 15-pointed maple leaf?
%=)
David Kendall - 1998-01-16
As some members have already pointed out, the eleven points/eleven governments (10 provincial plus federal) story is false. If you want a reference, go to your local library and ask for a pamphlet called :
Etiquette of the Canadian flag, 1995(?) (I'm not sure of the exact title).
in the federal publications.
You will see in there in black on white that the eleven points have no significance
Luc-Vartan Baronian - 16 January 1998
Does anyone know why red and white are Canada's official colours. I heard somewhere that the red represents blood shed in World War I and the white represents the land. Can anyone confirm this?
Fyaz Faisal - 15 August 1998
According to the documents edited by the Government of Canada : The flag is red and white, official colors that King George V designated for Canada in 1921, with a style d'érable leaf to 11 points in his center. Since 1925 and 1946, Parliament examined 2600 suggestions for a new national emblem, any understanding having not being able to be found, the current flag was
deployed February 15 1965.
Palac - 16 August 1998
I believe red and white has been our unofficial colours since the early-mid 18th century though. I don't know where it came from, but the official Canadian government site (I'm not sure of the URL, it's linked from my home page though) might help.
David Kendall - 16 August 1998
I've consulted two references on this, and both disagree with each other regarding the meaning of the colors on the Canadian flag. Mssr. Palac in his response to this list was correct in that the colors were officially part of the 1921 proclamation by George V.
I have also consulted the Canadian government server. They do not mention any symbolism on the flag, but do note that the red-white-red combination first appeared as part of the design of a General Service Medal for Canada issued under Queen Victoria between 1866 and 1870.
The design is somewhat based on the Pearson Pennant This had a blue-white-blue format for the colors, which a three leaf design for the Maple Leaf.
According to another source, the source of the design was the flag of the Royal Military College, with the white pale made large and the Maple Leaf in place of the mailed fist replaced by a maple leaf. This flag design was based on the General Service Medal mentioned earlier.
Phil Nelson - 16 August 1998
Perhaps the question should be "why not?" rather than "why?"; a matter of elimination not selection. As others have written the colours were established with the grant of arms of 1921. The "colours" associated with a coat of arms are those of the mantle, the covering of the helmet located above the shield. In this case maple leaves. In English heraldry these are traditionally a 'metal', yellow (gold) or white (silver), and a 'colour', blue, green or red. Red seems a fairly obvious choice of 'colour'. The Red Ensign with the badge of Canada in the fly was beginning to replace the British Union Flag as the National Flag. The maple leaf was established as a, perhaps the, National symbol.
A characteristic of the maple leaf, apart from its shape, is its red colour in the autumn (fall).
Do you now select yellow or white to go with red? Yellow and red appear together in the English and Scottish quarters of the shield, so white and red would be a more distinctive combination. White would also symbolize the ice and snow associated with much of Canada. Red and white just seem the best option within the tradition of English heraldry. A note about the colour of the maple leaves in the base of the shield. In 1921 these were green and were not changed to red until 1957. The original blazon (description) was; 'argent three maple leaves slipped vert'. (Three green maple leaves with stalks on a white background). However before publication this was changed to; 'argent three maple leaves conjoined on one stem proper'. The significant change is that 'vert' which must be 'green' has been changed to 'proper' which means 'natural'. Since the botanical maple leaf changes colour from green to red, the leaves in the base of the shield could have been made red even in 1921, just as the maple leaf in the paw of the lion on the crest, already was.
David Prothero - 17 August 1998
Why would gules and argent be a logical choice for the torse and mantling of the 1921 arms? If anything, since the 1921 arms are based on the British royal arms it would be gules and ermine (don't forget the furs). I believe gules and argent for the torse and mantling might have been derived from the St George's cross in the chief of the Ontario arms, which I assume was in the senior quarter of the pre-1921 arms? Does anyone know where I can find a picture of the pre-1921 achievement?
Andrew Young - 18 August 1998
The Red Ensign (created in 1707 as ensign of the Merchant Navy) was used from 1870 as flag on sea and on land. On the fly, there was the armoiries of provinces on one shield, often maple embellish bough and of oak and overcome of the royale crown, with to the-under a castor on a roundle.
In 1892, the British Admiralty authorized its use on sea as flag of Canada, as the "Red Canadian Ensign".
Palac - 18 August 1998
Interestingly, the Canadian Armed Forces do designate special flags for the prime minister and the minister of Defence: miniature National Flags.
They're used in a way analogous to a general's rank flag: on vehicles, on ships, and in front of Canadian Forces buildings where the prime minister or minister of Defence is actually present.
Dean Tiegs - 1998-01-14
![[Royal Union Flag]](../images/g/gb.gif)
by Zeljko Heimer
The "Royal Union Flag" (British Union Flag) is a current "official" flag of Canada per act of parliament of December 18, 1964, to "show allegiance to the crown and as a symbol of Canadian membership in the Commonwealth". It is required to be flown at Canadian federal goverment facilities (if sufficient poles are available) on Victoria Day, the anniversary of the Statute of Westminister (Dec 11), and Commonwealth day. The national flag (maple leaf) takes precedence in all cases except during a royal visit.
My personal observation in southern Ontario is that it is infrequently used, although it can be seen occasionally.
Kevin McNamara, 31 October 1998
[The Statute of Westminster, by the way, is the piece of British legislation wherein it was formally declared that all the self-governing Dominions of the Empire/Commonwealth and Britain were constitutionally "equal in status", with "no member subordinate in any way" to another. Until this Statute was passed, there was still considerable confusion about the legal status of the Dominions on the international stage; although we had been self-governing, internally, for almost 100 years, all our foreign affairs were, more-or-less, supposed to be conducted via London. The Statue of Westminster formally changed that -- and, in fact, there is a school of thought which asserts that 11 December is the real independence day for Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa.]
I actually put this to the test last time I was home on the Queen's Birthday: I randomly drove around Ottawa and found that out of 21 federal government buildings I came across with the capacity to implement the resolution (ie., those with a second flag pole, since the National Flag must also be flown), 19 complied. That was in May 1992.
One last point: although it is true that we general still say "Victoria Day", in fact, the formal title has been for quite some time "the Queen's Official Birthday" (with the added implication of "in Canada"). We are not technically celebrating Queen Victoria's birthday, but rather the reigning sovereign's birthday. The same thing occurs in the UK -- the Queen's actual birth date is 21 April, but the official celebration is in June.
Glen R. Hodgins, 23 May 2000
According to the Canadian government at http://www.pch.gc.ca/ceremonial-symb/english/emb_flag_pledge.html:
There is no official pledge to the Canadian flag; however, there are no laws or statutes which prevent an association or an individual from adopting a form which will suit the purposes.
The following is presented as a possible form of pledge to the Canadian flag.
| PLEDGE TO THE CANADIAN FLAG | SALUT AU DRAPEAU CANADIEN |
| To my Flag and to the country it represents, I pledge RESPECT and LOYALTY
Wave with PRIDE from sea to sea and within your folds, keep us ever UNITED. Be for all a symbol of LOVE, FrEEDOM and JUSTICE God keep our FLAG God protect our CANADA |
A mon drapeau et au pays qu'il représente, je promets RESPECT et FIDÉLITÉ
D'une mer a l'autre, flotte avec FIERTÉ et dans tes plis garde nous toujours UNIS. Sois, pour nous tous, un symbole de l'AMOUR, de la LIBERTÉ et de la JUSTICE Dieu garde notre DRAPEAU Dieu protege notre CANADA |
This text was proposed by Mr. Alexandre Cyr, when he was M.P. for Gaspé.
Jarig Bakker, 12 January 2001
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