| Flag | Date | Use | Description |
|---|
 | 1895 | Sir Donald A. Smith's proposal | A British colonial Red Ensign with green maple leaf in lower fly. [41] |
 | Sir Sanford Fleming's proposal | A British colonial Red Ensign with a seven-pointed white star in the lower fly that represents the North Star as emblem of Canada its rays symbolizing its then seven provinces. [42] [43] |
 | H. Spencer Howell of the Canadian Club of Hamilton, Ontario's proposal | A British colonial Red Ensign with green maple leaf on white disc in lower fly. [44] [45] |
 | 1896 | E. M. Chadwick's Proposed National Flag / Blue Ensign of Canada | A British Blue Ensign with three conjoined maple leaves in gold as emblem on the fly. Chadwick also proposed a Red Ensign with the same gold maple leaves as Canada's colonial/national emblem. [46] |
 | E. M. Chadwick's Proposed National Flag and Red Ensign of Canada | A British Red Ensign with three conjoined maple leaves in green on a white disc as badge on the fly. Chadwick also proposed a Blue Ensign with the same maple leaves in red on a white disc as Canada's colonial/national emblem. [47] |
 | 1902 | Design reported in the Daily Express to have been proposed as part of a series of Empire flags that would replace the Union Jack in representing individual territories of the British Empire [48] | The Cross of Saint George and the crown in the canton would have been present on all Empire flags to represent the English. In the top right would be the emblem of the territory flying the flag, and in this case, the coat of arms of Canada. A large sun in the centre symbolizes "the empire on which the sun never sets." |
 | 1916 | Manitoba Free Press Proposal | Design inspired by the Australian flag. A British ensign with a white field, with the seven stars of the Big Dipper/Great Bear plus the North Star placed on the fly. [49] Further development of a proposal originally made in October 1909 by C. F. Hamilton in Collier's Canada (a white ensign as flag of Canada). Hamilton strongly criticized the Manitoba Free Press proposal for its use of 'republican' stars. [50] |
 | 1920s | Minnie H. Bowen Proposal | Design featuring the white cross of France on a red field with Union Jack in canton, submitted to PM Mackenzie King's 1925 flag committee. [51] A similar redesign of the red and blue ensigns of Canada was considered by PM Sir Robert Borden's 1919 arms committee. [52] |
 | 1925 | A. Fortescue Duguid Proposal | Proposed by Archer Fortescue Duguid as a "Canadian National Flag for Use Ashore" in June 1925. Later provisionally adopted by the Canadian Army in Europe from 1939-1944, until replaced by the Canadian Red Ensign. Duguid re-proposed the design as national flag in 1939 at the time it was adopted as the flag of the 1st Canadian Division. [53] |
 | 1926 | Winner of the 1926 La Presse contest to design a national flag. Design credited concurrently to Edwin Tappan Adney, Charles Lapierre, Joseph-Edouard Roy, and Isidore Renaud. [54] | The white field recalls the first, "heroic" period of Canada under monarchical France, the Union Jack symbolizes loyalty to Great Britain, and the green maple leaf concretizes the present history of Canada and its aspirations. [55] [56] Design submitted to the 1945-46 Parliamentary flag committee and one of the last to be eliminated from consideration. [57] [58] |
 | 1931 | Gérard Gallienne's Proposal | A blue-red-blue vertical triband fimbriated by white bars (pallets) with the Canadian coat of arms placed in the centre. The blue bars symbolize the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and Canada's National Motto, A mari usque ad mare ('From sea to sea'), and the red Canada's land. [59] [60] [61] [62] |
 | 1939 | Ephrem Côté's Proposal [63] | A blue-white-red diagonal triband (white bend sinister on a field party per bend sinister blue and red), with a Union Jack in upper hoist, green maple leaf centre, and white fleur-de-lis lower fly. |
 | c.1943 | Ligue du Drapeau National's proposal for Flag of Canada, endorsed by the Native Sons of Canada in 1946 | A red and white field divided diagaonally (per bend) defaced by a green maple leaf placed in the centre. Proposed by the Ligue du Drapeau National c. 1943. [64] One of the two final designs considered by the 1945-1946 parliamentary joint committee to choose a national flag. [65] Adopted and promoted by the Native Sons of Canada from 1946. [66] [67] |
 | 1944 | Eugène Achard's Proposal | On a blue field, a white symmetric cross surmounted by a red cross, charged by a green maple leaf ringed by nine white five-pointed stars. [68] |
 | 1945 | A. Fortescue Duguid's second Proposal [69] | Three red maple leaves conjoined with a single stem on a white field. Originally proposed by Canadian armed forces heraldist and vexillologist Col. A. Fortecue Duguid during the 1945-1946 Parliamentary committee deliberations. Later re-proposed by PM Pearson's parliamentary secretary John R. Matheson in 1963. [70] Publicly supported by ex-PM and opposition leader John Diefenbaker during 1964 Great Flag Debate. [71] |
 | 1946 | Parliamentary Joint Committee's final selection | A red British ensign defaced with a large golden maple leaf outlined in white in the fly. [72] [73] [74] Selected by a 1945-1946 Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Commons but never submitted to parliament for a vote. [75] |
 | D. F. Stedman's proposal | A blue field with red and white diagonal and vertical bars of varying breadth. Derived from the British Union Jack and French Tricolour and intended to represent British, French, and Native 'founding' peoples. [76] |
 | 1954 | Florian A. Legace's proposal, the 'Canadian Union Jack' | A white cross on a red and blue quartered field, a green maple leaf centre. White "Cross of Sacrifice" after usage of Canadian Legion. Deep red of Union Jack, royal blue quarters intended to be intermediate between dark blue of the Union Jack and azure of the Fleurdelisé Flag of Quebec. The points on the maple leaf symbolize its individual provinces and territories and its green colour Canada's natural resources and the evergreens found coast to coast. [77] |
 | John Lorne MacDougall's proposal | Red field with white side/flank in the hoist charged with a shield featuring the Union Jack of Great Britain and three golden fleurs-de-lis of royalist France/Quebec over which are three green maple leaves and a Tudor crown. One of several variants devised by an all-province study group of Liberal MPs convened by Bona Arsenault in 1954. [78] [79] |
 | Jean-François Pouliot's Proposal | Green, detailed maple leaf on a plain red field. [80] |
 | 1955 | Proposal of J.W. Bradfield of the Toronto Young Men's Canadian Club | Quartered banner - upper hoist red with three golden lions, lower fly blue with three white fleurs-de-lis, remaining two white with three red conjoined maple leaves. [81] [82] |
 | Alan Beddoe's Proposal | A white field charged by three red maple leaves conjoined on one stem with narrow wavy vertical blue bars at hoist and fly. [83] |
 | André Barbeau's Proposal | A white square centre panel charged with a forest green maple leaf, flanked by blue, white, red vertical bars at hoist and fly. [84] |
 | 1957 | Alfred Stagg's Proposal | Blue-white-blue vertical triband charged by a red maple leaf encircled by a red ring. [85] The distinctive leaf appears to be a silver maple rather than the more standard sugar maple. |
 | 1958 | Jean Dubuc's Proposal [86] | On a white field, a tripartite symmetric cross in red, white and blue, surmounted by a green maple leaf on a white disc. The white of the field symbolizes the First Nations and Inuit "still in possession of vast expanses of snow and ice of this country". [87] |
 | Vincent Dupuis's Proposal | Eleven red, white, and blue stripes with a white canton with green maple leaf. The stripes represent Canada's provinces and territories. [88] |
 | 1959 | Leslie Frost's Proposal | A Canadian Red Ensign with the Dominion Coat of Arms wreathed by ten maple leaves, representing Canada's ten provinces. Designed by the Premier of Ontario. [89] |
 | Marcel Boivin's Proposal | Four bands of white, blue, gold, and red. Recreation based on textual description (orientation of bands not specified). [90] |
 | 1962 | John-Guy Labarre's Proposal | A green Compass rose on a white background. |
 | 1963 | Rolland Lavoie's Proposal | A disc divided in half vertically, coloured red and blue, on a white field. First Prize winner in the 1963 Weekend / Canadian Art magazine design contest. [91] [92] [93] |
 | James Sanders's Proposal | An abstractly stylized seven-point red maple leaf on a white field. Second Prize winner in the 1963 Weekend / Canadian Art magazine design contest. [94] [95] |
 | Leslie Coppold's Proposal | A blue and white vertically divided field with an abstractly stylized fifteen-point red maple leaf on the square white fly panel. One of five Fourth Prize winners in the 1963 Weekend / Canadian Art magazine design contest. [96] [97] |
 | Carl Dair's Proposal | An abstractly stylized five-point red maple leaf on a white field flanked by vertical blue bars. Honorable Mention in the 1963 Weekend / Canadian Art magazine design contest. [98] |
 | Grant Hewlett's Proposal | A red field as square panel at fly with a white side or flank at hoist, charged with a green 19-point maple leaf. Honorable Mention in the 1963 Weekend / Canadian Art magazine design contest. [99] |
 | 1964 | Alan Beddoe's second proposal, made during the Great Flag Debate, favored by Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson and popularly known as the Pearson Pennant. Parliamentary Committee "Group A" Finalist | A blue field with a white square containing a three-leaf maple. The blue sides were meant to represent John A. Macdonald's description of the Canadian Pacific Railway and Canada's geography, "From sea to sea". Beddoe first submitted a proposed flag of similar design in 1955. [100] The original mid-1964 draft version featured spikey, rounded heraldic maple leaves. [101] |
 | Reid Scott of the New Democratic Party's proposal, made during the Great Flag Debate. | A white field charged with a single red maple leaf and flanked by two vertical blue bars. [102] |
 | Proposal made during the Great Flag Debate featuring four maple leaves | Four large maple leaves occupy the centre of the flag. Behind them is a white diamond on a blue background. The leaves are arranged similarly to the modern heraldic mark of the Prime Minister, and their stems form the Cross of Saint George in the middle. |
 | Proposal made during the Great Flag Debate featuring one maple leaf | The background is like the British flag without the diagonal stripes, there is a green maple leaf in the centre and there are three stars on either side in the red stripe and two stars on either side in the vertical red stripe. |
 | Proposal made during the Great Flag Debate featuring ten maple leaves | Ten maple leaves are spread across the flag, and they likely represent the provinces. On the left are red leaves on a red background. The right side features the same colours inverted. |
 | Proposal for Flag of Canada, by George F. G. Stanley [103] | A red-white-red vertical triband, a red field with a white pale, containing a single red 15-point maple leaf. Based on the flag of the Royal Military College of Canada, where Stanley served as Dean of Arts. [104] |
 | George F. G. Stanley's alternate proposal for Flag of Canada, his Option B [105] | A red-white-red horizontal triband, a red field with a white fess, containing a three-leaf maple branch. |
 | George Matthias Bist's proposal during the Great Flag Debate | A critique and redesign of the Pearson Pennant. Features a red stylized 9-point maple leaf (black maple) on a white square pale, with an 'air force blue' field. [106] Design credited by John Matheson with inventing the Canadian pale. [107] |
 | Proposal made during the Great Flag Debate featuring one maple leaf. "Group C" finalist considered by Parliamentary committee. [108] | Identical to "Group B" final choice of 1964 Committee but with Union Flag and royal French banner with three fleurs-de-lis as cantonal charges in upper hoist and fly. Introduced ostensibly to placate supporters of Canadian Red Ensign, [109] eliminated in second to last round of voting. |
 | Proposal made during Great Flag Debate, Parliamentary Committee "Group B" finalist and Committee final selection. | Final choice of 1964 Parliamentary Joint Committee. Features vertical triband, red-white-red colour scheme, and single maple leaf proposed by George Stanley, George Matthias Bist's broad pale, and 13-point maple leaf designed by Alan Beddoe. [110] |
 | An intermediate manufactured prototype of the 1964 Parliamentary flag committee's final selection. | An intermediate redesign of the Parliamentary Joint Committee's final selection, featuring a variant 13-point maple leaf. Appears in press images taken in the month of December 1964, including a press agency photograph at the closure of Parliamentary debate [111] and a magazine cover depicting the new flag flying on Parliament Hill. [112] |
 | 1994 | Proposed flag for Canada, known as the Canadian Unity Flag | Blue vertical stripes replacing part of the red bands, in approximate proportion to population of French heritage. |
 | 1996 | The Unilisé, a flag used by Canadian federalists in Quebec | A banner combining the flags of Canada and Quebec. Made in 1996 after the Quebec independence referendum by federalists who supported remaining with Canada to represent national unity. |
