Canada Flag

The Canadian flag — the Maple Leaf — has two red vertical bars on either side of a white square that is twice the width of each red bar. Centred on the white square is a stylised 11-pointed red maple leaf.

The leaf is an 11-point design specifically engineered to be aerodynamically stable when the flag flies, eliminating the flutter distortion that plagued earlier designs.

Canada used the Canadian Red Ensign (a British maritime flag with the Canadian coat of arms) for decades, but desire for a distinctive national flag grew. A parliamentary committee examined 3,541 design submissions in 1964.

Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson championed the single-maple-leaf design by artist George Stanley. After a contentious national debate, the Maple Leaf was proclaimed on 15 February 1965 — now celebrated as National Flag of Canada Day.