A symbol of unity: How Canada chose its iconic maple leaf flag
Canada's national flag celebrates 60 years of representing the country. The Weather Network's Nathan Coleman looks into the history of the iconic flag.
The red maple leaf makes the Canadian flag unmistakable.
It gets displayed prominently on occasions like Canada Day or year-round at government properties, but recently flags have been popping up just about everywhere in residential neighbourhoods on homes and sheds.
Halifax resident Angus Cameron served in the Canadian Navy for 26 years and says he normally has his flag up in the backyard, but this year he moved it to the front deck.
The reason: “Because of the fella down South talking about trying to take over. It’s just a symbol that I wanted to show that you’re not going to take over. We’re not going to become another state, and it shows how patriotic we are, and yeah, we’re Canadians first and always,” Cameron tells The Weather Network.
Angus Cameron poses with his Canadian flag on display in front of his home in Halifax. (The Weather Network)
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The flag didn’t always look this way. Its current form is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year.
Back in the 1960s, Lester B. Pearson was looking to create a peacekeeping force in Egypt, but historian Craig Baird says there was a Union Jack on the uniform's red ensign, and the Egyptians were fighting against the British.
“Pearson really wanted to bring in something that was uniquely Canadian that didn’t have anything related to France or Britain or anywhere else that could identify Canadians around the world,” Board tells The Weather Network.
The Pearson pennant had blue bars representing Canada "from sea to sea" and three maple leaves coming off one branch, but it didn’t make the final cut.
A special flag committee was created, and thousands of entries were submitted by Canadians.
“They featured everything from the Beatles to the Beavers to just a wide variety, and they would debate which flag they were going to choose. So it came down to two, the Pearson pennant and the Canadian flag designed by George Stanley," explains Baird.
During the vote, the conservatives voted for the Canadian flag, and knowing this, the liberals ditched the Pearson pennant to make the vote unanimous, much to the dismay of John Diefenbaker, who never wanted to ditch the red ensign. Nevertheless, the Canadian flag was born.
“Doesn’t have any British to it. It’s totally Canadian. It’s simple. It’s good colours. It’s the flag that I believe in and that I support,” says Cameron.
Mdoh Philip Mata immigrated to Halifax from Egypt with his family and now proudly displays two Canadian flags on his minivan.
“I like the Canadian flag because Canada is protecting my family,” Mata tells The Weather Network.
Mary Macneil now lives in Halifax but worked abroad as a music teacher at hospices in Asia and says the maple leaf served as a reminder of Canadian weather.
“Being away, one of the things that you miss being here in Canada are the four different seasons, and I think that the maple leaf is very special to us here," says Macneil. "It comes to us once a year, rain or shine, and it just means that we’re ever growing, ever changing.”
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(Header image credit: toptop54 via Pixabay).