National Flag of Canada (1965)

Conscious of the approach of the 1967 centennial celebration of Confederation, the Canadian Government determined to adopt a distinctive national flag. 

A Senate and House of Commons Committee was appointed and opinions sought from heraldry experts, historians, government figures and other interested parties. 

The committee successfully achieved its purpose and the national flag of Canada was adopted on the 15th of February 1965.

The Canadian flag has a stylised eleven-point maple leaf in the centre of 3 unequal vertical panels of red, white and red. 

Speaker of the Senate, the Honourable Maurice Bourget, added meaning to the flag when it was first raised on the 15th of February 1965 with the words: "The flag is the symbol of the nation’s unity, for it, beyond any doubt, represents all the citizens of Canada without distinction of race, language, belief or opinion."

The Symbolic Meaning

The maple leaf has served as a Canadian symbol since at least the mid-19th century.

Red and white were partly chosen to represent Canada’s historical links to France and England.  

The two red stripes are seen to symbolise the two oceans, the Pacific and the Atlantic, on either side of Canada, represented by the white stripe and maple leaf.

Red and white became Canada’s national colours in 1921, having been used for many years prior to that date. 

When they were adopted as part of the national coat of arms in 1921, red symbolised the Canadian lives lost during the First World War and white represented the snow of northern Canada.