Today on Sunday, February 15, 2015 our National Flag of Canada turns 50!
After the First World War and again after the Second World War, the Government of Canada discussed the importance of our country having its own flag.
Attempts to adopt a specific design repeatedly failed as consensus could not be reached.
In 1964, the Government made the creation of a distinctive Canadian flag a priority as the 1967 centennial celebration of Confederation was approaching. When Parliament could not reach agreement on the design, the task of finding a national flag was given to an all-party Parliamentary committee.
After considering thousands of proposals for flags submitted by Canadians, the committee chose three final designs:
A Red Ensign with the fleur-de-lis and the Union Jack, Three red maple leaves between two blue borders, and a red maple leaf on a white square between two red borders.
It was the single leaf, red and white design that the Committee recommended to Parliament. The motion was passed to adopt this design as the National Flag of Canada with a vote of 163 to 78 on December 15, 1964.
The winning flag was selected for the following reasons:
The simplicity of the design that made it easily recognizable.
Its use of Canada’s official national colours.
The maple leaf had become a symbol of Canadian pride and national identity.
Canadian troops as well as Canadian athletes used the maple leaf as an emblem on their uniforms when representing Canada abroad.
The Maple Leaf:
Well before the coming of the first European settlers, Canada's aboriginal peoples had discovered the food properties of maple sap, which they gathered every spring. According to many historians, the maple leaf began to serve as a Canadian symbol as early as 1700.
It finally became official on February 15, 1965, as an integral component of the national flag of Canada.
Red and White-Our National Colors:
History records that in the first crusade, Bohemund I, a Norman lord, had red crosses cut from his mantles and distributed to the 10,000 crusaders, who then wore them as a distinctive badge on their garments.
In subsequent crusades, each nation was distinguished by a cross of a different colour. France long had a red cross on its banners while England used a white cross. Time and again in history, red and white are found as the colours of France or of England.
Red and white were approved as Canada's official colours in the proclamation of the royal arms of Canada in 1921 by King George V.
In 1957, the colour of the maple leaves on the shield of the Royal Arms of Canada was changed from green on a white ground to red on a white ground in recognition of Canada's official colours.
source: gc.ca