The National Flag of Canada (French: Drapeau national du Canada),[1] often referred to simply as the Canadian flag, consists of a red field with a white square at its centre in the ratio of 1∶2∶1, in which is featured one stylized, red, 11-pointed maple leafcharged in the centre.[2] It is the first flag to have been adopted by both houses of Parliament and officially proclaimed by the Canadian monarch as the country's official national flag.[3] The flag has become the predominant and most recognizable national symbol of Canada.
Before 1965, the Canadian Red Ensign had been in unofficial use since the 1860s and was later officially approved by a 1945 Order in Council for use "wherever place or occasion may make it desirable to fly a distinctive Canadian flag".[5][6] Also, the Royal Union Flag remains an official flag in Canada, to symbolize Canada's allegiance to the monarch and membership in the Commonwealth of Nations.[7] There is no law dictating how the national flag is to be treated, but there are conventions and protocols to guide how it is to be displayed and its place in the order of precedence of flags, which gives it primacy over the aforementioned and most other flags.
Many different flags created by Canadian officials, government bodies, and military forces contain the maple leaf motif in some fashion, either by having the Canadian flag charged in the canton or by including maple leaves in the design. The Canadian flag also appears on the government's wordmark.
Construction sheet for the national flag of Canada
The flag is horizontally symmetric, so the obverse and reverse sides appear identical. The width of the Maple Leaf flag is twice the height. The white field is a Canadian pale (a central band occupying half the width of a vertical triband flag, rather than a third of the width, named for its use in this flag);[8] each bordering red field is exactly half its size[9] and it bears a stylized red maple leaf at its centre. In heraldic terminology, the flag's blazon as outlined on the original royal proclamation is "gules on a Canadian pale argent a maple leaf of the first".[10][12]
The number of points on the leaf has no special significance;[22] the number and arrangement of the points were chosen after wind tunnel tests showed the current design to be the least blurry of the various designs when tested under high-wind conditions.[23]
The image of the maple leaf used on the flag was designed by Jacques Saint-Cyr;[24] Jack Cook claims that this stylized eleven-point maple leaf was lifted from a copyrighted design owned by a Canadian craft shop in Ottawa.[25] The colours 0/100/100/0 in the CMYK process, PMS 032 (flag red 100%), or PMS 485 (used for screens) in the Pantone colour specifier can be used when reproducing the flag.[9] For the Federal Identity Program, the red tone of the standard flag has an RGB value of 255–0–0 (web hexadecimal #FF0000).[26] In 1984, the National Flag of Canada Manufacturing Standards Act was passed to unify the manufacturing standards for flags used in both indoor and outdoor conditions.[27]
The Flag of Canada is represented as the Unicodeemoji sequence U+1F1E8🇨REGIONAL INDICATOR SYMBOL LETTER C, U+1F1E6🇦REGIONAL INDICATOR SYMBOL LETTER A.[28]
As the de facto British national flag, the Union Flag (commonly known as the "Union Jack") was used similarly in Canada from the time of British settlement in Nova Scotia after 1621.[34][35] Its use continued after Canada's legislative independence from the United Kingdom in 1931 until the adoption of the current flag in 1965.[6][36]
Shortly after Canadian Confederation in 1867, the need for distinctive Canadian flags emerged. The first Canadian flag was then used as the flag of the governor general of Canada, a Union Flag with a shield in the centre bearing the quartered arms of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, surrounded by a wreath of maple leaves.[37] In 1870, the Red Ensign, with the addition of the Canadian composite shield in the fly, began to be used unofficially on land and sea[38] and was known as the Canadian Red Ensign. As new provinces joined the Confederation, their arms were added to the shield. In 1892, the British admiralty approved the use of the Red Ensign for Canadian use at sea.[38]
A Canadian postcard marking the coronation of King George V and Queen Mary in 1911, depicting a Canadian Red Ensign with a crowned composite shield of Canada in the fly, and the Union Flag below it
The composite shield was replaced with the coat of arms of Canada upon its grant in 1921, and in 1924, an Order in Council approved its use for Canadian government buildings abroad.[6] In 1925, Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King established a committee to design a flag to be used at home, but it was dissolved before the final report could be delivered. Despite the failure of the committee to solve the issue, public sentiment in the 1920s was in favour of fixing the flag problem for Canada.[39] New designs were proposed in 1927,[40] 1931,[41] and 1939.[42]
By the Second World War, the Red Ensign was viewed as Canada's de facto national flag. A joint committee of the Senate and House of Commons was appointed on November 8, 1945, to recommend a national flag to officially adopt. It received 2,409 designs from the public and was addressed by the director of the Historical Section of the Canadian Army, Archer Fortescue Duguid, who pointed out that red and white were Canada's official colours and there was already an emblem representing the country: three joined maple leaves seen on the escutcheon of the Canadian coat of arms.[38] By May 9 the following year, the committee reported back with a recommendation "that the national flag of Canada should be the Canadian red ensign with a maple leaf in autumn golden colours in a bordered background of white". The Legislative Assembly of Quebec had urged the committee not to include any of what it deemed as "foreign symbols", including the Union Flag, and Mackenzie King, then still prime minister, declined to act on the report;[20][37][43] fearing it may lead to political instability. As a result, the Union Flag was kept as a national flag, and the order to fly the Canadian Red Ensign at government buildings was maintained.[44]
By the 1960s, the debate for an official Canadian flag intensified and became controversial, culminating in the Great Flag Debate of 1964.[45] In 1963, the minority Liberal government of Lester B. Pearson gained power and decided to adopt an official Canadian flag through parliamentary debate. The principal political proponent of the change was Pearson. He had been a significant broker during the Suez Crisis of 1956, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.[46] During the crisis, Pearson was disturbed when the Egyptian government objected to Canadian peacekeeping forces because the Canadian flag (the Red Ensign) contained the same symbol (the Union Flag) also used as a flag by the United Kingdom, one of the belligerents.[46] Pearson's goal was to create a Canadian flag that was distinctive and unmistakably Canadian. The main opponent to changing the flag was the leader of the opposition and former prime minister, John Diefenbaker, who eventually made the subject a personal crusade.[47]
A flag design created by Alan Beddoe, and dubbed the Pearson Pennant, being Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson's favoured design
In 1961, Leader of the Opposition Lester Pearson asked John Ross Matheson to begin researching what it would take for Canada to have a new flag. By April 1963, Pearson was prime minister in a minority government and risked losing power over the issue. He formed a 15-member multi-party parliamentary committee in 1963 to select a new design, despite opposition leader Diefenbaker's demands for a referendum on the issue.[48] On May 27, 1964, Pearson's cabinet introduced a motion to parliament for the adoption of his favourite design, presented to him by artist and heraldic advisor Alan Beddoe,[38] of a "sea to sea" (Canada's motto) flag with blue borders and three conjoined red maple leaves on a white field. This motion led to weeks of acrimonious debate in the House of Commons and the design came to be known as the "Pearson Pennant",[49] derided by the media and viewed as a "concession to Québec".[38]
Flag design created by George Stanley and selected by the parliamentary committee
A new all-party committee was formed in September 1964, comprising seven Liberals, five Conservatives, one New Democrat, one Social Crediter, and one Créditiste, with Herman Batten as chairman, while John Matheson acted as Pearson's right-hand man.[38] Among those who gave their opinions to the group was Duguid, expressing the same views as he had in 1945, insisting on a design using three maple leaves; Arthur R. M. Lower, stressing the need for a distinctly Canadian emblem; Marcel Trudel, arguing for symbols of Canada's founding nations, which did not include the maple leaf (a thought shared by Diefenbaker); and A. Y. Jackson, providing his own suggested designs.[38] A steering committee also considered about 2,000 suggestions from the public, in addition to 3,900 others that included, according to Library and Archives Canada, "those that had accumulated in the Department of the Secretary of State and those from a parliamentary flag committee of 1945–1946".[38] Through six weeks of study with political manoeuvring, the committee took a vote on the two finalists: the Pearson Pennant (Beddoe's design) and the current design. Believing the Liberal members would vote for the Prime Minister's preference, the Conservatives voted for the single leaf design. The Liberals, though, all voted for the single leaf design, as did the members from the other two parties, giving a unanimous 15 to 0 vote[38] for the option created by George Stanley and inspired by the flag of the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) in Kingston, Ontario.[50]
There, near the parade square, in March 1964, while viewing the college flag atop the Mackenzie Building, Stanley, then RMC's Dean of Arts, first suggested to Matheson, then Member of Parliament for Leeds, that the RMC flag should form the basis of the national flag. The suggestion was followed by Stanley's memorandum of March 23, 1964, on the history of Canada's emblems,[51] in which he warned that any new flag "must avoid the use of national or racial symbols that are of a divisive nature" and that it would be "clearly inadvisable" to create a flag that carried the Union Flag or a fleur-de-lis. According to Matheson, Pearson's "paramount and desperate objective" in introducing the new flag was keeping Quebec in Canada.[52] It was Stanley's idea that the new flag should be red and white and that it should feature the single maple leaf; his memorandum included the first sketch of what would become the flag of Canada. Stanley and Matheson collaborated on a design that was, after six months of debate and 308 speeches,[38] passed by a majority vote in the House of Commons on December 15, 1964. Just after this, at 2:00 am, Matheson wrote to Stanley: "Your proposed flag has just now been approved by the Commons 163 to 78. Congratulations. I believe it is an excellent flag that will serve Canada well."[53] The Senate added its approval two days later.[20]
Proclamation
After the resolutions proposing a new national flag for Canada were passed by the two houses of parliament, a proclamation was drawn up for signature by the Queen of Canada. This was created in the form of an illuminated document on vellum, with calligraphy by Yvonne Diceman and heraldic illustrations. The text was rendered in black ink, using a quill, while the heraldic elements were painted in gouache with gilt highlights. The Great Seal of Canada was embossed and secured by a silk ribbon.[54]
Royal proclamation of the national flag of Canada
This parchment was signed discreetly by the calligrapher but was made official by the signatures of Queen Elizabeth II (given on January 28, 1965[20]), Prime MinisterLester Pearson, and Attorney GeneralGuy Favreau. In order to obtain these signatures, the document was flown to the United Kingdom (for the Queen's royal sign-manual) and to the Caribbean (for the signature of Favreau, who was on vacation). This transport to different climates, combined with the quality of the materials with which the proclamation was created and the subsequent storage and repair methods (including the use of Scotch Tape), contributed to the deterioration of the document: The gouache was flaking off, leaving gaps in the heraldic designs, most conspicuously on the red maple leaf of the flag design in the centre of the sheet, and the adhesive from the tape had left stains. A desire to have the proclamation as part of a display at the Canadian Museum of Civilization marking the flag's 25th anniversary led to its restoration in 1989. The proclamation is today stored in a temperature and humidity-controlled plexiglass case to prevent the vellum from changing dimensionally.[54]
Adoption
The Canadian flag flying at Peace Tower. An official ceremony inaugurating the flag was held on Parliament Hill in 1965.
The new national flag was inaugurated on February 15, 1965, at an official ceremony held on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, in the presence of Governor General Major-General Georges Vanier, the Prime Minister, other members of the Cabinet, and Canadian parliamentarians. The Red Ensign was lowered at the stroke of noon, and the new maple leaf flag was raised. The crowd sang "O Canada" followed by "God Save the Queen".[55] Of the flag, Vanier said "[it] will symbolize to each of us—and to the world—the unity of purpose and high resolve to which destiny beckons us".[56]Maurice Bourget, Speaker of the Senate, said: "The flag is the symbol of the nation's unity, for it, beyond any doubt, represents all the citizens of Canada without distinction of race, language, belief, or opinion."[55] Yet there was still opposition to the change, and Stanley's life was even threatened for having "assassinated the flag". Despite this, Stanley attended the flag-raising ceremony.[57]
At the time of the 50th anniversary of the flag in 2015, the government—held by the Conservative Party—was criticized for the lack of an official ceremony dedicated to the date; accusations of partisanship were levelled.[56]Minister of Canadian HeritageShelly Glover denied the charges, and others, including Liberal Members of Parliament, pointed to community events taking place around the country.[56] Governor General David Johnston did, though, preside at an official ceremony at Confederation Park in Ottawa, integrated with Winterlude. He said, "[t]he National Flag of Canada is so embedded in our national life and so emblematic of our national purpose that we simply cannot imagine our country without it."[58] Queen Elizabeth II stated: "On this, the 50th anniversary of the National Flag of Canada, I am pleased to join with all Canadians in the celebration of this unique and cherished symbol of our country and identity."[59] A commemorative stamp and coin were issued by Canada Post and the Royal Canadian Mint, respectively.[58]
Alternative flags
A Canadian Red Ensign, Royal Union Flag, and the flag of Canada flown next to a cenotaph in Cartwright, Manitoba
As a symbol of the nation's membership in the Commonwealth of Nations and allegiance to the Crown, the Royal Union Flag is an official Canadian flag and is flown on certain occasions.[60] Regulations require federal installations to fly the Royal Union Flag beside the national flag when physically possible, using a second flagpole, on the following days: Commonwealth Day (the second Monday in March), Victoria Day (the same date as the Canadian sovereign's official birthday), and the anniversary of the Statute of Westminster (December 11). The Royal Union Flag can also be flown at the National War Memorial or at other locations during ceremonies that honour Canadian involvement with forces of other Commonwealth nations during times of war. The national flag always precedes the Royal Union Flag, with the former occupying the place of honour.[60]
The Royal Standard of Canada (banner of arms) is an official flag introduced May 6, 2023, and first flown at Government House, Halifax, that day.[61]
The Red Ensign is occasionally still used, including official use at some ceremonies. It was flown at the commemorations of the Battle of Vimy Ridge in 2007.[62][63] This decision elicited criticism from those who believed it should not have been given equal status to the Canadian flag and received praise from people who believed that it was important to retain the ties to Canada's past.[62][63] The Royal Union Flag and Red Ensign are still flown in Canada by veterans' groups and others who continue to stress the importance of Canada's British heritage and the Commonwealth connection.[60]
In Quebec, the provincial flag (a white cross on a field of blue with four fleurs-de-lis) can be considered a national flag along with the Maple Leaf flag, as is the Acadian flag in the Acadian regions of the Maritime provinces.[24][64][65] Public display of Canadian flags is rare in Quebec, with most Quebecers preferring to fly the flag of Quebec instead.[66][67][68] Display of the flag is also contentious, with the Quebec provincial government ordering that the Quebec flag be given seniority over the Canadian one in the province,[69][70] and many Quebec government facilities, such as the Quebec City Hall, the headquarters of the Sûreté du Québec and SAAQ, and the Quebec Parliament, refusing to fly the Canadian flag at all.[71][72][73]
No law dictates the proper use of the Canadian flag. Canadian Heritage has released rules for flying the National Flag of Canada alone and with other flags. The rules deal with the order of precedence in which the Canadian flag is placed, where the flag can be used, how it is used, and what people should do to honour the flag. The suggestions, titled National Flag of Canada Etiquette, were published by Canadian Heritage online and last updated in 24 February 2022.[74]Canadian Forces also have a unique protocol for folding the Canadian flag for presentations, such as during a funeral ceremony; CF does not recommend this method for everyday use.[75]
The flag can be displayed on any day at buildings operated by the Government of Canada, airports, military bases, diplomatic offices, and citizens during any time of the day. When flying the flag, it should be flown using its pole and should not be inferior to other flags, save for, in descending order, the King's standard, the governor general's standard, any of the personal standards of members of the Canadian Royal Family, or flags of the lieutenant governors.[76] The Canadian flag is flown at half-mast in Canada to indicate a period of mourning.
Promoting the flag
A sample of items from the Parliamentary Flag Program
Since the Canadian flag was adopted in 1965, the Canadian government has sponsored programs to promote it. Examples include the Canadian Parliamentary Flag Program of the Department of Canadian Heritageand the flag program run by the Department of Public Works. These programs increased the exposure of the flag and the concept that it was part of the national identity. To raise awareness of the new flag, the Parliamentary Flag Program was set up in December 1972 by the Cabinet and, beginning in 1973,[77] allowed members of the House of Commons to distribute flags and lapel pins in the shape of the Canadian flag to their constituents. Full-size flags that have been flown on Peace Tower and four other locations on Parliament Hill are packaged by the Department of Public Works and offered to the public free of charge. As of March 2019, the program has a waiting list of over 100 years for both Peace Tower flags, which are 2.3 by 4.6 metres (7.5 by 15ft) in size, and for flags from the other four locations (one on each side of Centre Block and one each over East and West Blocks), which are 1.4 by 2.7 metres (4.5 by 9ft).[78]
Since 1996, February 15 has been commemorated as National Flag of Canada Day.[55] In 1996, Minister of Canadian Heritage Sheila Copps instituted the One in a Million National Flag Challenge.[79] Canadian Heritage put the expenses at $15.5million, with approximately a seventh of the cost offset by donations.[80]
A national flag is a flag that represents and symbolizes a given nation. It is flown by the government of that nation, but can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanings for its colours and symbols, which may also be used separately from the flag as a symbol of the nation. The design of a national flag is sometimes altered after the occurrence of important historical events.
The Union Jack or Union Flag is the de facto national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Flag was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. The flag continues to have official status in Canada, by parliamentary resolution, where it is known as the Royal Union Flag. However, it is commonly referred to in Canada as the Union Jack.
The coat of arms of Canada, also known as the Royal Coat of Arms of Canada or, formally, as the Arms of His Majesty The King in Right of Canada, is the arms of dominion of the Canadian monarch and, thus, also the official coat of arms of Canada. In use since 1921, it is closely modelled after the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom, with French and distinctive Canadian elements replacing or added to those derived from the British version.
The flag of Quebec, called the Fleurdelisé in French, represents the Canadian province of Quebec. It consists of a white cross on a blue background, with four white fleurs-de-lis.
In British maritime law and custom, an ensign is the identifying flag flown to designate a British ship, either military or civilian. Such flags display the United Kingdom Union Flag in the canton, with either a red, white or blue field, dependent on whether the vessel is civilian, naval, or in a special category. These are known as the red, white, and blue ensigns respectively.
The maple leaf is the characteristic leaf of the maple tree. It is most widely recognized as the national symbol of Canada.
The flag of New Brunswick consists of a golden lion passant on a red field in the upper third and a gold field defaced with a lymphad on top of blue and white wavy lines in the bottom two-thirds. Adopted in 1965 shortly after the new national flag was inaugurated, it has been the flag of the Canadian province since February 24 of that year. It is a banner of arms modelled after the province's coat of arms.
The flag of Ontario is a defaced Red Ensign, with the Royal Union Flag in the canton and the Ontario shield of arms in the fly. The flag of Ontario was derived from the Canadian Red Ensign, which was used as a civil ensign and as a de facto flag of Canada from the late 19th century to 1965. It was adopted in a period when many Canadian provinces adopted their own flags. May 21 is Ontario Flag Day.
The coat of arms of Ontario is the armorial emblem representing the Canadian province of Ontario. The arms contain symbols reflecting Ontario's British heritage, along with local symbols. At the upper part of the shield is the red cross of St. George, representing England. The lower portion of the shield features three golden maple leaves on a green background.
The flag of Manitoba consists of a Red Ensign defaced with the shield of the provincial coat of arms. Adopted in 1965 shortly after the new national flag was inaugurated, it has been the flag of the province since May 12 of the following year. Its adoption was intended to maintain the legacy of the Canadian Red Ensign as the country's unofficial flag, after the adoption of the Maple Leaf Flag in 1965. Manitoba's flag has been frequently mistaken for the flag of the neighbouring province of Ontario, which is also a Red Ensign with its respective coat of arms. This, along with criticisms of a lack of inclusivity of the flag, has led some Manitobans to call for a new and more distinct flag.
Colonel George Francis Gillman Stanley was a Canadian author, soldier, historian at Mount Allison University, public servant, and designer of the Canadian Flag.
The White Ensign, at one time called the St George's Ensign because of the simultaneous existence of a crossless version of the flag, is an ensign worn on British Royal Navy ships and shore establishments. It consists of a red St George's Cross on a white field, identical to the flag of England except with the Union Flag in the upper canton.
The Canadian Red Ensign served as a nautical flag and civil ensign for Canada from 1892 to 1965, and later as the de facto flag of Canada before 1965. The flag is a British Red Ensign, with the Royal Union Flag in the canton, emblazoned with the shield of the coat of arms of Canada.
National Flag of Canada Day, commonly shortened to Flag Day, is observed annually on February 15 to commemorate the inauguration of the flag of Canada on that date in 1965. The day is marked by flying the flag, occasional public ceremonies and educational programs in schools. It is not a public holiday, although there has been discussion about creating one.
The Great Canadian flag debate was a national debate that took place in 1963 and 1964 when a new design for the national flag of Canada was chosen.
Over the course of centuries, a multitude of national symbols and material items have arisen as uniquely Canadian or possessing uniquely Canadian characteristics. These symbols and items represent the culture of Canada—protectionism of that culture, identity, values, nationalism, and the heritage of its inhabitants.
Canadian royal symbols are the visual and auditory identifiers of the Canadian monarchy, including the viceroys, in the country's federal and provincial jurisdictions. These may specifically distinguish organizations that derive their authority from the Crown, establishments with royal associations, or merely be ways of expressing loyal or patriotic sentiment.
The people and province of Quebec have created and established several symbols throughout Quebec's history to represent the collective identity of its residents. Many of Quebec's symbols are related to its history, to catholicism, to Quebec's winters and/or the fauna and flora of Quebec. The motif most commonly seen in Quebec's various symbols is the fleur de lys, which is associated with the French language and New France.
The Royal Canadian Air Force Ensign is the official flag which is used to represent the Royal Canadian Air Force. The Ensign has an air force blue field defaced with the Canadian Flag in the canton and the current Royal Canadian Air Force roundel in the fly.
↑ "Fleur-de-lys | The Canadian Encyclopedia". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. At the time of New France (1534 to the 1760s), two flags could be viewed as having national status. The first was the banner of France — a blue square flag bearing three gold fleurs-de-lys. It was flown above fortifications in the early years of the colony. For instance, it was flown above the lodgings of Pierre Du Gua de Monts at Île Sainte-Croix in 1604. There is some evidence that the banner also flew above Samuel de Champlain's habitation in 1608. ..... the completely white flag of the French Royal Navy was flown from ships, forts and sometimes at land-claiming ceremonies.
↑ "INQUINTE.CA | CANADA 150 Years of History ~ The story behind the flag". inquinte.ca. When Canada was settled as part of France and dubbed "New France," two flags gained national status. One was the Royal Banner of France. This featured a blue background with three gold fleurs-de-lis. A white flag of the French Royal Navy was also flown from ships and forts and sometimes flown at land-claiming ceremonies.
↑ W. Stewart Wallace (1948). The Encyclopedia of Canada, Vol. II, Toronto, University Associates of Canada. pp.350–351. During the French régime in Canada, there does not appear to have been any French national flag in the modern sense of the term. The "Banner of France", composed of fleur-de-lys on a blue field, came nearest to being a national flag, since it was carried before the king when he marched to battle, and thus in some sense symbolized the kingdom of France. During the later period of French rule, it would seem that the emblem...was a flag showing the fleur-de-lys on a white ground.... as seen in Florida. There were, however, 68 flags authorized for various services by Louis XIV in 1661; and a number of these were doubtless used in New France
↑ McGinn, Dave (2011). "Why don't more Canadians fly the flag?". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on July 6, 2012. Retrieved July 6, 2012. Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams ordered Canadian flags taken down from provincial government buildings to protest against a deal with the federal government on sharing offshore royalties.
↑ "QUEBEC'S ATHLETES BLAME FLAG FOR OLYMPIC 'DISTRESS'". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Florida. March 14, 1998. Archived from the original on July 17, 2023. Quebeckers have never particularly warmed to the Maple Leaf, which is not widely displayed in the province dominated by French-speakers.
↑ "Am I the only one ..."Our Heritage. Canada: University of Lethbridge. Archived from the original on July 17, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2023. In some parts of quebec you can't fly a canadian flag,that's okay
↑ "Position of honour of the National Flag of Canada". August 15, 2017. Archived from the original on September 12, 2017. Quebec has decreed that on all buildings under its authority within the province of Quebec, whether it be those of government departments, boards, schools or others, as well as on city halls, the provincial flag of Quebec is given precedence over the National Flag of Canada and must occupy the place of honour.
↑ DePalma, Anthony (November 26, 1997). "Quebec Journal; To Some Canadians, the Maple Leaf Is a Red Flag". The New York Times. New York. Archived from the original on May 27, 2015. Jean-Paul L'Allier, has prohibited the Canadian Maple Leaf from officially flying in front of City Hall since 1990. It was a symbolic retaliation for the defeat, by the rest of Canada, of a constitutional amendment that would have recognized Quebec's special place within the Canadian confederation.
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