For many Canadians, the Maple Leaf is the only symbol of Canada they have ever known. But this flag was only introduced in 1965, and was a true national symbol, filled with imagery representing our people and our history. So why did we replace this proud symbol?
00:00:00.000Should we replace the Maple Leaf flag?
00:00:01.640For many Canadians, the Maple Leaf is the only symbol of Canada they have ever known.
00:00:05.220But this flag was only introduced in 1965.
00:00:07.700February 15th marks National Flag Night.
00:00:09.820This year is the 61st anniversary of the Maple Leaf.
00:00:12.700Before the leaf, Canada's official flag was the Union Jack.
00:00:15.340In order to express our distinct identity within the British Commonwealth,
00:00:18.440we adopted a civil flag, known as the Red Ensign.
00:00:21.040It flew over Parliament, it flew over our cities,
00:00:23.300and it flew over our soldiers in both world wars.
00:00:25.800Over the years, the Red Ensign took many forms.
00:00:27.840Initially, it was the Union Jacket in the top left corner, a red backdrop, and a crest composed of each of the province's coat of arms.
00:00:34.500As more and more provinces were admitted into confederation, this crest became increasingly unwieldy.
00:00:39.640In 1922, changes were made to streamline the design.
00:00:42.260The crest was replaced with a simplified version of the Canadian coat of arms, creating what many Canadian nationalists will recognize immediately as the Red Ensign.
00:00:49.660This was a true national symbol, filled with imagery representing our people and our history.
00:00:54.100The four quadrants on the shield represent the four groups who settled and built Canada.
00:00:58.380The three golden lions representing the English, the red lion rampant representing the Scottish,
00:01:02.660the golden harp representing the Irish, and the three fleur-de-lis representing the French.
00:01:06.880And at the bottom, three maple leaves.