This flag was in use in England since the Crusades and it was one of the national emblems of England as early as 1277. It continued to be the English national flag for almost 400 years.

The French first began to explore and set up colonies in what would eventually become Canada beginning with Jacques Cartier in 1534 when he landed at Gaspé and claimed what is now Quebec in the name of Francis I of France. He most likely carried the Blue fleur-de-lis as a symbol of French royalty.

With King James I inheritance of the English throne in 1603, the Cross of Saint George was placed over the Scottish Cross of Saint Andrew to form the British Union Flag.

The British Red Ensign, also called the "Colonial Red Ensign" and the "Meteor" Flag, was adopted by Queen Anne (1702-1714) as the new flag for England and her colonies in 1707.

In 1801, the Cross of St. Patrick had been added to the British Union Flag when Ireland joined the Union. This cross was counterchanged with the Cross of St. Andrew.

The British Union Flag, known to the Canadians as "The Royal Union Flag," was considered the "official" flag of Canada, and so it remained for many years, all through World War I, when it was the flag of the Canadian forces.

Although the British Red Ensign was originally designed to be the Merchant Flag used on non-military British ship while at sea, in Canada it was treated as the national flag on land as well. Since the British Union Flag was a semi-royal flag and only flown only on the very most important military buildings on land, the Red Ensign by default was commonly used on land in Canada as a national flag until 1868. After that the Canadians added shields on the red flys to indicate that it was the "Canadian Red Ensign."

Until 1867, the Hudson's Bay Company controlled most of the area of modern Canada west of Ontario. A flag much used in this territory was the British Red Ensign (a red flag with the Union Flag on the canton) with the capital letters H B C in white on the fly: the letters H and B are joined together in a monogram arrangement. One of these flags is displayed in Christ Church Cathedral, in Victoria, British Columbia. The Hudson's Bay Company Ensign continued in use until the company's tercentenary in 1970, at which point it was retired. HBC is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and is one of the oldest in the world. This flag was probably the prototype for the Canadian Red Ensign and several provincial flags.

The North West Company was a fur-trading business started in 1779 in Montreal. After operating for 40 years in the Canadian North-West, it merged with the Hudson Bay Company in 1821. In 1987, a group of investors (including 415 employees) purchased the Northern Stores Division from the Hudson Bay Company and took back its historical name and flag. With 300 years of history under its belt as a provider of food and everyday products and services to remote communities across northern Canada and Alaska, the North West Company is now the oldest retailer on the continent.

There were two armed uprisings in Lower and Upper Canada (Quebec and Ontario) called the Rebellions of 1837-1838. They were motivated by frustration over the lack of republican political reform. In 1837 open violence between "The Sons of Liberty," the militant wing of the Patriotes movement headed by Louis Joseph Papineau, and pro-British elements broke out in Montreal. This would spread, being fueled by deep rooted dissatisfaction between the British and French communities in the area. In late 1838 William Mackenzie and a small group of his followers retreated from Toronto to Navy Island on the Niagara River. The rebels declared it the Republic of Canada in December of 1838. The whole affair ended when the Canadian militia captured and destroyed the American supply steamer Caroline which had been supplying those on the island, and then drove the rebels off the island. This all eventually led to the famous Lord Durham's Report calling for the establishment of responsible English government in the colonies.

In 1868 a royal warrant created the Great Seal of Canada. The first Canadian Red Ensign was created shortly after this (without formal authority) and flown over the Canadian Parliament. This flag was made official in 1892 (after a personal intervention with the British Admiralty, which had the final say on such matters until 1931, by Governor General Stanley (the donor of the Stanley Cup for hockey), and remained so until 1922.

As Canada grew and new territories and provinces were establish, the official versions of the national arms seemed to lag behind reality. The various "UnOfficial" ensigns were unofficial only in so far as they were not recognized by the Admiralty, which regulated the flags to be used to identify ships at sea. While the Canadian Parliament waited for royal approval of updated versions of the national arms, Canadian flag makers didn't. They produced a series of "UnOfficial flags" that the Canadians proudly used on land as a matter of course.
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The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery (RCA) is the artillery branch of the Canadian Forces (CF). The first artillery company in Canada was formed in the province of Quebec in 1871 and comprised of two garrison batteries named respectively Batteries A and B. They are still active today as part of the 1st Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery (RCHA).

When the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) was established in 1910, there was some dispute as to what ensign and jack Canadian warships should fly. Eventually it was decided that the White Ensign of the British Royal Navy (RN) would be the Canadian naval ensign, and that the Canadian Blue Ensign (already in use as the government ensign) would be the Canadian naval jack. This arrangement, however, was not entirely satisfactory. Since the jack was not flown underway, RCN ships at sea could not be distinguished from those of the RN. During World War I, therefore, Canadian warships began to display a green maple leaf on either side of the forward funnel. This informal insignia was later made official.

This flag was proposed as the Royal Canadian Navy Ensign, but wasn't approved or put into use. When the Naval Service of Canada was established in 1910, the government wanted to adopt the British White Ensign defaced with the Canadian shield as the naval ensign, but the British Admiralty, which had the final say in such matters at that time, would not hear of it.

As the Royal Canadian Navy Jack between 1910-1922, this was the official flag for all government owned vessels (both federal and provincial). This would have included the armed vessels which were transferred to the Naval Service of Canada by the Department of Marine and Fisheries (Canadian Coast Guard) in 1910.

In 1921 a royal proclamation made Royal Arms of Canada into their present form. In 1924 a Canadian Order in Council was passed authorizing the Red Ensign to be flown for limited use over all Government buildings abroad, and that was because the diplomatic service needed to have some flag to fly over Canadian Embassies that was not the Union Jack. In 1945 a Canadian Order in Council made the Canadian Red Ensign the de facto national flag decreeing that until such time as action is taken by Parliament for the formal adoption of a national flag, the Red Ensign may be flown wherever place or occasion may make it desirable to fly a distinctive Canadian flag. ( For more information about the shield used - Click Here )

The Royal Canadian Blue Jack was the official flag for all government owned vessels from 1922 to 1957. The Canadian Blue Ensign was also used as jacks on RCN warships.

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In the Second World War, which Canada entered after Britain declared war on Germany, they used the Canadian Red Ensign as their national flag, but also in use was this lesser known battle flag. Canada wanted its army to be distinguishable among the great mass of British troops, and so provided it with, not the Canadian Red Ensign, but this new battle flag.

Beginning in 1936, Canadian armoured regiments were created to replace the dated horse cavalry with more modern "tank" regiments. Thus, the Royal Canadian Armour Corps (RCAC) was officially formed in 1940, first as the Canadian Armoured Corps (CAC), which in turn, traced its lineage back to the Canadian Tank Corps (CTC) of the First World I.

In 1957 a slight modification was made to the approved artistic interpretation of Canada's arms changing the maple leaves on the Canadian Red Ensign from green to red. The Canadian Red Ensign would continue to be both the Merchant Naval Ensign and defacto national land flag until it was replaced by the Maple Leaf Flag in 1964. ( For more information about the shield used - Click Here )

This was the Royal Canadian Blue Jack for all government owned vessels from 1957 to 1964, replacing the 1922-1957 pattern Canadian Blue Ensign.

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The ensign of the Royal Canadian Air Force was based on the ensign of the British Royal Air Force (RAF), a light (sky) blue ensign, but with the Canadian Maple Leaf placed within the roundel. Until the Second World War the RAF ensign was used by the RCAF; the RCAF ensign with the maple leaf roundel began to be used in 1941.

For much of its post-Confederation history, Canada used both the Royal Union Flag (Union Jack) and the Canadian Red Ensign as its national flag. One of the first attempts to change that was during World War II in 1946, but failed. During the election campaign of 1963, Lester Pearson and the Liberal Party promised that Canada would have a new flag within two years of his election. His selection committee, after having eliminated many designs, had it down to four: a traditional British Red Ensign with a gold Maple Leaf on the fly, the three-leaf design favored by Pearson, Scott's proposal of a single red maple leaf on the white stripe on a blue flag, another traditional British Red Ensign with the fleur-de-lys on the fly, and a compromise design by Alan Beddoe.

A royal proclamation established the National Flag of Canada in 1964 as the Maple Leaf Flag, which was first officially flown in January of 1965. The use of the Canadian Red and Blue Ensigns, as well as the Royal Canadian Navy White Ensign stopped at this time.

On July 1, 1967, Canada marked its Centennial Anniversary (100 years) since the forming of the Canadian Confederation, in which the British colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick were united into the Dominion of Canada in 1867.

Activities were planned all across the country. Since some of the organizers were concerned that centennial festivities would be upstaged by the 1967 World's Fair (Expo 67) being held in Montreal, Canada, the two events were linked. The official Expo 67 guide devoted several pages to the Centennial celebrations. This tradition of multiple colored fields for these flags would be continued in the Sesquicentennial (150) celebrations held 50 years later in 2017.

Canadian Confederation's 100th (type #5)		Canadian Confederation's 100th (type #6)
Canadian Confederation's 100th (type #7)		Montreal Expo 67 Flag "friendship around the world"

Stuart Ash designed the Canadian Confederation Centennial logo in 1966, a maple leaf comprised of 11 equilateral triangles to represent the 10 Canadian provinces and the territories at the time. The Expo 67 theme was "Man and His World" and its logo was designed by Montreal artist Julien Hébert. The icon, an ancient symbol of man, was repeated in a circular arrangement to represent "friendship around the world."

It is not surprising that the red fielded centennial flag was most common version displayed across Canada since it reflected the colors of the new national flag of Canada, the "Maple Leaf" Flag, just adopted two years previously in 1964.

The Canadian Forces (CF), or the Canadian Armed Forces, are the unified armed forces of Canada, as first constituted by the National Defence Act of 1922. The Canadian Forces Reorganization Act amended the National Defence Act in 1968 and established the united Canadian Forces as they are today. They include all three main branches of the Canadian military; the Maritime Command (MARCOM), Land Force Command (LFC), and Air Command (AIRCOM). At the top of the Canadian Forces command structure is the Commander-in-Chief (the reigning Canadian monarch), represented by the Governor General.

Upon the unification of the three branches of the Canadian military into the Canadian Forces in 1968, this Force Mobile Command flag was used by all three branches until adoption of the Land Force Command flag in 1998. Strangely in 1966, all the strike bomber aircraft were transferred from the Air Defence Command to the new Force Mobile Command. Stranger yet, the Force Mobile Command flag continued to be unofficially referred to as the "Canadian Army" flag by the general public.

The Flag of the Canadian Armed Land Forces (LFC) during this period (1998-2013) was white with the national flag in the canton. On the fly, there are two crossed swords, partially covered by a red maple leaf.

The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) has been the navy of Canada since 1910 and used the White Ensign of the British Royal Navy (RN) until 1968 when the three Canadian armed services were unified to form the "Canadian Forces." Between 1968 and 2013, the Canadian navy used this flag as a jack, but used the National Maple Leaf Flag as their ensign on warships.

The Canadian Navy Board is comprised of flag officers (Commodores and above) and meets every few months to discuss operations and fleet policies. The fleet is roughly evenly split between the Atlantic and Pacific commands with the Atlantic housing the larger of the two fleets. MARCOM participates in NATO exercises, and ships are deployed all over the world in support of the Canadian military and in conjunction with multinational deployments.

The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) was created in 1962 to address the need to provide services to mariners in Canadian waters. The Canadian Coast Guard owns and operates the federal government's civilian fleet, and provides necessary maritime services to Canadians. The Canadian Coast Guard vessels wear the Maple Leaf as an ensign and the Canadian Coast Guard flag as a jack.

After 1968, the RCAF was merged with the Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Navy to form the Canadian Forces, and air force functions were under this new command. However, in 1975 Canada's military air services was re-organized into a single command: Canadian Forces Air Command. (AIRCOM)

The Intelligence (Int) Branch is the branch of the Canadian Forces (CF) that is charged with providing intelligence information to enable CF commanders to make decisions.

The Canadian Forces Military Police (CFMP) provide security and military policing services to all Canadian Forces (CF). The Canadian Military Police are a bit unusual because they are classified as regular Peace Officers in the Criminal Code of Canada, which gives them the same powers as civilian law enforcement personnel. Although Military Police jurisdiction is on military establishments across Canada and throughout the world, any civilian accessing these areas falls under their jurisdiction and are dealt with in the same manner as any civilian policing agency.

The Canadian Border Services Agency was established in 2003 and is charged with ensuring "Canada's security and prosperity by managing the access of people and goods to and from Canada." The CBSA is Canada's all-in-one border security, customs, and immigration agency.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (popularly known as the "Mounties") is the Canadian national police service and an agency of the Ministry of Public Safety Canada. The RCMP is unique in the world since it is a national, federal, provincial and municipal policing body. They provide a total federal policing service to all Canadians and policing services under contract to the three territories, eight provinces (except Ontario and Quebec), more than 190 municipalities, 184 Aboriginal communities and three international airports.

The National Aboriginal Policing Services, a division of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, is responsible for planning, developing and managing the RCMP's strategies when working with Aboriginal groups. It is closely align with the First Nations Policing Program (FNPP) and gives First Nations communities the opportunity to participate with the federal and provincial or territorial governments in providing dedicated policing services in their communities. Under the FNPP, the RCMP currently provides policing services to a number of First Nation communities through a contingent of First Nations police officers working within the RCMP.

The Governor-General (GG) is the the Queen's deputy and carries out the functions of the Crown in her absence. Queen Elizabeth is legally and constitutionally the Head of State of the Dominion of Canada. This box shows the changes in the design of the flag of the Governor-General of Canada since in 1901. In 1869, the crown authorized that Royal Governors of all ranks use a British Union flag defaced with the arms or badge of their colony. In Canada, the Governor-General's flag bore a St. Edward's crown over the badge of Canada. In 1901, the crown was changed to a Tudor crown after Edward VII became King, as shown in the 1901 version here.

In 1921, the badge on the Governor-General's standard was changed to the newest approved coat-of-arms of Canada.

In 1931, a completely new design, first proposed in 1928, became official. The new flag showed the crest from the royal arms on a blue field with a scroll bearing the word "CANADA" placed below it. At first the lion stood on a Tudor crown, but in 1953 a change was made to the design at Queen Elizabeth II request and the Tudor crown was replaced by the St. Edward crown.

In 1981, the Governor-General's flag went through its last major change when the crest of the arms of Canada became the central emblem of the flag. This crest is a crowned lion holding a red maple leaf in its paw, standing on a wreath of the official red and white colors of Canada, on the blue background of the flag.

In 1998, the lion on the Governor-General's flag lost his tongue and claws at the insistence of the Right Honourable Roméo LeBlanc, who was Governor General from 1995 to 1999. He wanted the lion made more "friendly." When the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson replaced LeBlanc, she quietly changed the flag back to what it had been previous to 1998.

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Governor-General's Flag 1998		Governor-General's Flag since 1999

This flag is flown from the Governor-General's car, the Governor-General's official residences, and any other building the Governor-General is visiting. On overseas visits, the National Maple Leaf Flag is used more commonly, as it is a more recognizable Canadian symbol. ( Click here for more information about the Canadian government )

This flag of Her Majesty The Queen is flown for her when she visits her Dominion of Canada. Her title in Canada is "Her Majesty, the Queen of Canada" and she is legally and constitutionally the Head of State of the Dominion of Canada. In her absence the Governor-General (GG) is the Canadian head of state and the Prime Minister (PM) is head of her government.

This Personal Standard is flown for Prince of Wales when he visits the Dominion of Canada.

This personal standard is flown for the Duke of Cambridge when he visits the Dominion of Canada.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster. Like the BBC (British Broadcasting Company), the CBC is the only national government-supported broadcasting company in Canada. Today there are also privately owned commercial broadcasting companies co-existing with the CBC such as CTV, Global, City, TVA, and APTN.

The Maple Leaf Tartan, the cloth, not the flag, was created in 1964 by David Weiser to be used to help celebrate the 100th anniversary of Canada's confederation in 1967. The colours of the maple leaf, as seen through the changing seasons, were the basis for the tartan design now known as the Maple Leaf Tartan. The pattern incorporates "...the green of the leaves' summer foliage, the gold which appears in early autumn, the red which appears with the coming of the first frost, and the brown tones of the fallen leaves." The tartan was made an official symbol of Canada by ministerial declaration in 2011.

Although the The Canadian Forces - Land Force Command was established in 1968 it had always been more commonly referred to as simply the "Canadian Army." Between 1989 and 1998 its command flag had been a variant of Canadian Forces Ensign (CF) ensign, but with a different badge on the fly.

On July 1, 2017, Canada marks its Sesquicentennial Anniversary (150 years) since the forming of the Canadian Confederation, in which the British colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick were united into the Dominion of Canada in 1867.

The "Canada 150" logo of a stylized maple leaf made up of multi-colored diamond shapes was designed in 2015 by Ariana Cuvin, a student at the University of Waterloo. Her winning design has resulted in a multitude of flags being manufactured to celebrate the event. The Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) request for different flags using the Cuvin design was answered by delighted Canadian flag makers who have flooded the market with a variety of colors and designs interpretations, it promises to be a very colorful celebration. This tradition of multiple colored fields for these centennial flags was well established in the Canadian Centennial celebrations held 50 years earlier.

The young designer explains her design saying "The maple leaf is the nation's most iconic symbol, and I used it...to represent Canada and its Confederation. The base of the leaf is made up of 4 diamonds...with nine more expanding outwards from them, meant to represent the four provinces that formed the Confederacy in 1867 eventually growing to the 13 provinces and territories. The repeated shape is meant to create a sense of unity, and the 13 shapes forming the leaf represents our togetherness as a country."

Canada's 150th (retro type #1)		Canada's 150th (retro type #2)
Canada's 150th (retro type #3)		Canada's 150th (retro type #8)

Also apparently in use are these "retro" Sesquicentennial design flags more closely reflecting those used for the Canadian Centennial/Expo 67 flags of 1967.