What is the significance of the Canadian flag in history?

The Canadian flag has been a single, enduring symbol of national unity since its adoption on February 15, 1965, but the country flew several different national flags before that date. From Confederation in 1867 to 1965, Canada used variants of the Royal Union Flag and the Canadian Red Ensign, which carried the British Union Jack in the canton and a shield containing the arms of the founding provinces (and after 1921, the Royal Coat of Arms of Canada).

The Canadian Red Ensign was approved for use by the Royal Canadian Navy in 1892, flown over Canadian government buildings from 1924, and made the official flag of Canada in waters and abroad on May 26, 1924 by Order in Council. It was the flag Canadian troops carried at the First and Second World Wars, including the assault on Vimy Ridge on April 9, 1917, the Battle of the Atlantic, the Italian Campaign, and the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944.

Pressure for a distinctly Canadian flag grew through the postwar period. In 1925 Prime Minister Mackenzie King appointed a parliamentary committee to study a new design, and in 1946 a select committee considered nearly 2,500 submissions but produced no consensus. The 1964 Great Flag Debate under Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, which lasted 270 speeches and 33 days in the House of Commons, finally resolved the question with the Maple Leaf design proposed by historian George F. G. Stanley.

The 1965 flag has flown over every subsequent Canadian moment of historical weight: Expo 67, the 1976 Montreal Olympics, the patriation of the Constitution in 1982, the failed Charlottetown referendum of 1992, the 1995 Quebec referendum, the September 11, 2001 vigils, the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, the Toronto 2015 Pan American Games, and the COVID-19 commemorations of 2020 to 2022. National Flag of Canada Day, observed every February 15 since 1996, marks the design's anniversary.