Flag Canada

Canadian Flag 3x5' Printed Poly.
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 Government). The heraldic description of the Canadian National Flag is: Gules on a Canadian pale argent a maple leaf of the first.
On 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 battalion 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.

SWI

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