Flag of Canada

Maple Leaf Flag / l'Unifolié
Vexillological symbol :	?
Aspect ratio:	1: 2
Officially accepted:	February 15, 1965

The flag of Canada ( English Maple Leaf Flag 'Ahornblattflagge', French l'Unifolié 'the one-leaved') was first hoisted on February 15, 1965. The design of George Stanley was of three proposals by Prime Minister Lester Pearson selected appointed commission.

Before its introduction, Canada used different variants of the British Red Ensign with the Canadian coat of arms in the flight section .

Appearance and meaning

A waving Canadian flag

The national flag is described as "a red maple leaf on a silver Canadian pole , with red on top". The white stake is a square central band in the three-striped flag, the adjacent red stripes are exactly half as wide as the white field. The width of the flag is twice the height.

An 11-pointed, red sugar maple leaf is depicted on the white field . The eleven points of the maple leaf do not correspond to the original in nature, which has 23 points. Nevertheless, the number has no special symbolic meaning, so it does not represent the number of provinces and the entirety of the territories such as the Commonwealth star on the flag of Australia . Some early examples of the Canadian flag depicted maple leaves with 13 or 15 points. The shape used today was determined by testing different design variants in a wind tunnel to determine which variant would look most aesthetic in strong winds.

Canada's Department of Culture recommends several inks that should be used in making a flag:

• 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

These colors correspond to 0/100/100/0 in the CMYK color model or PMS032 or PMS485 in the Pantone color system.

The two red areas on the left and right symbolize the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean, respectively. The color white symbolizes the arctic snow. Red is also intended to commemorate the fallen Canadian soldiers in World War I - but Canadian red is much older and is derived from the British Red Ensign of the 17th century.

The two white areas can be interpreted as facial profiles facing each other; they are called “Jack” and “Jacques” in Canada.

history

At the beginning of the 18th century, the maple leaf began to establish itself as a symbol of Canadian nature and the environment. The Canadian national coat of arms also features maple leaves as the only symbol for Canada. In 1921, King George V determined the national colors of Canada: red, derived from the George's cross on the flag of England , and white, the French royal color since Charles VII .

From 1868, a year after various British colonies had merged to form the Canadian Confederation , a Canadian Red Ensign based on the British model was used informally as the national flag. After the introduction of a new national coat of arms, the design of the flag was slightly adapted in 1921. Another minor adjustment followed in 1957: the maple leaf was now red instead of green and the Irish harp had a slightly different shape.

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  ^? Flag of Canada 1868-1921

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  ^? Flag of Canada 1921–1957

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  ^? Flag of Canada 1957-1965

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  ^? Flag of Canada 1868-1921

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  ^? Flag of Canada 1921–1957

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  ^? Flag of Canada 1957-1965

The more Canada's ties to Great Britain loosened in the course of the 20th century , the louder the call for a national flag became among many Canadians. They wanted a flag that no longer resembles the Union flag of the former colonial power. French-speaking Canadians in particular called for a change. The supporters of this idea faced millions of other Canadians who wanted to continue to express their connection to the British motherland with the old flag. The Canadian Red Ensign was still very much valued by the veterans of both world wars.

The sometimes passionate discussion lasted for several decades - then the supporters of a new flag prevailed. Prime Minister Lester Pearson tabled a bill in Parliament on May 27, 1964, introducing a flag he personally supported: blue borders and three maple leaves fused together on a central white field. This proposal sparked a debate that lasted several weeks. Opposition leader John Diefenbaker tried to prevent the bill with a fatigue speech , a so-called filibuster , and called for a referendum. Instead, Pearson set up a parliamentary commission on September 10, 1964, consisting of 15 representatives from various parties.

From a total of 3541 submissions (2136 of which contained a maple leaf), the commission decided on October 22, 1964 in favor of the historian George Stanley's design: red-white-red with a red maple leaf in the middle. However, many French Canadians did not agree with this flag because they wanted to see at least the Bourbon lilies, which were also used in the flag of Québec , in the new flag. For 33 days there were arguments for and against the new flag in both houses of parliament, and fierce speeches and even violent clashes broke out in many cities. The House of Commons finally adopted the flag on December 15, 1964 by 163 votes to 78. Two days later, the Senate also gave its approval.

Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill died on January 24, 1965 . Pearson decided to attend the state funeral and on the occasion to meet Queen Elizabeth II . He asked her to proclaim the new flag, which she did on January 28, 1965. On February 15, 1965, the new flag was introduced at an official ceremony on Parliament Hill in Ottawa . Since 1996 February 15 has been considered the Canadian National Flag Day.

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  ^? Flag design from 1946

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  ^? First featured flag design by Lester Pearson

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  ^? Not implemented variant from 1964

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  ^? 2006 proposal for a flag that the francophone population represents

Web links

Commons : Flags of Canada  - Album of pictures, videos and audio files

• Flag of Canada ( English , French )
• George Stanley's flag memorandum
• Flags of the World: Canada (English)
• A flag for Canada , Radio Canada archive (French)
• in English . Detailed description of the development of the flag in the Mapleleafweb, University of Lethbridge , Dept. of Political Sciences . This site has not been updated since 2010. Extensive political material for the time up to then.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Gules on a Canadian pale argent a maple leaf of the first / gueules sur pal argent canadien, une feuille d'érable de la première couleur. Quote Emblems of Canada ( English, French ) In: The Canadian Encyclopedia . Retrieved March 25, 2008.
2. ^ Canadian flag, writings by Matheson. Flags Of The World, February 10, 2007, accessed July 21, 2008 . 
3. ↑ Canadian Heritage: Birth of the Canadian Flag (English) / Patrimoine canadien: Naissance du drapeau canadien (French)
4. ↑ Canadian Duality Flag / Drapeau Dualité Canadienne (English / French)