# Canada's Flag is 50 Years Old Today! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 15, 2015, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadas-flag-is-50-years-old-today/712756 "2015-02-15T22:42:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadas-flag-is-50-years-old-today/712756/21 "2015-02-16T04:10:43Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > You look at that flag and say “those Canadians must be very likable.” What’s so likable about two angry men yelling at each other? (Look at the flag, and see if you can figure out what I mean.) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadas-flag-is-50-years-old-today/712756/22 "2015-02-16T04:28:50Z")
Huzzah for our friends to the north, and their bold, distinctive flag, which I’ve always liked very much. It even added a new phrase to vexillology, eh: [Canadian pale - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_pale) ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadas-flag-is-50-years-old-today/712756/23 "2015-02-16T04:53:22Z")
I kind of like the Red Ensign, actually. And it’s got maple leaves too. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadas-flag-is-50-years-old-today/712756/24 "2015-02-16T08:18:22Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > What’s so likable about two angry men yelling at each other? > > (Look at the flag, and see if you can figure out what I mean.) Obviously intentional, reflecting the heated arguments over the flag. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadas-flag-is-50-years-old-today/712756/25 "2015-02-16T10:37:26Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I think Canada has one of the coolest flags in the world: instantly recognizable. I agree. Like all perfect flags, it has an instantly recognizable symbol in its center, and can be drawn using a single crayon on a white piece of paper. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadas-flag-is-50-years-old-today/712756/26 "2015-02-16T10:45:08Z")
That was one of the reasons against the Ensign, which I agree is an interesting flag, but not really distinguishable from many other flags modelled on the British ensigns. One goal of a flag is to be distinctive at a distance; the Red Ensign failed that test. The Maple Leaf passes it very well. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadas-flag-is-50-years-old-today/712756/27 "2015-02-16T10:48:30Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > I kind of like the Red Ensign, actually. And it’s got maple leaves too. If you hunt for them. John Matheson, the MP who was Pearson’s lead on the issue, gave the estimate that the maple leaves made up 1/48th of the Red Ensign; all the rest of the symbols on the Ensign were British and French. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadas-flag-is-50-years-old-today/712756/28 "2015-02-16T10:51:18Z")
Here’s a sampling of the number of [Red Ensigns](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Ensign) that have been in use. They made some sense when we were all sub-units of the British Empire; post-Empire, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadas-flag-is-50-years-old-today/712756/29 "2015-02-16T10:56:23Z")
There was also the [Blue Ensign](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Ensign#mediaviewer/File:Canadian_Blue_Ensign_1957-1965.svg), used by the Canadian Navy. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadas-flag-is-50-years-old-today/712756/30 "2015-02-16T16:29:48Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I agree. Like all perfect flags, it has an instantly recognizable symbol in its center, and can be drawn using a single crayon on a white piece of paper. I see what you did there. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadas-flag-is-50-years-old-today/712756/31 "2015-02-16T16:54:33Z")
Sure, go with the Blue Ensign. Like we don’t have [enough flags we don’t have to squint to tell apart](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Ensign#National_flags_based_on_the_Blue_Ensign) ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadas-flag-is-50-years-old-today/712756/32 "2015-02-16T16:58:18Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I agree. Like all perfect flags, it has an instantly recognizable symbol in its center, and can be drawn using a single crayon on a white piece of paper. Next you’ll be telling us that all perfect national anthems are Smetana covers (although a Santana cover would be really cool) ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadas-flag-is-50-years-old-today/712756/33 "2015-02-16T16:59:37Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > If you hunt for them. John Matheson, the MP who was Pearson’s lead on the issue, gave the estimate that the maple leaves made up 1/48th of the Red Ensign; all the rest of the symbols on the Ensign were British and French. Well, there’s always the older version, that had the symbols of the first four provinces in the shield. But I’d disagree with Matheson. The only British symbol on the Ensign is the Union Jack in the Canton. The coat of arms of Canada is on there, and that’s a Canadian symbol, even though the coat of arms itself contains British and French symbols (the lion, the harp, the fleur-de-lis). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadas-flag-is-50-years-old-today/712756/34 "2015-02-16T17:18:06Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I think Canada has one of the coolest flags in the world: instantly recognizable. I agree. A perfect flag. I, too, had no idea it was that recent, so I’m glad I stumbled across this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadas-flag-is-50-years-old-today/712756/35 "2015-02-16T18:19:19Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Seriously, this is interesting. I was unaware that the Canadian flag was such a recent development. Mrs Piper had a similar comment: “Seems like it’s always been there.” ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadas-flag-is-50-years-old-today/712756/36 "2015-02-16T19:51:57Z")
I’ll bite – what was the previous flag? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadas-flag-is-50-years-old-today/712756/37 "2015-02-16T20:01:14Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I’ll bite – what was the previous flag? [The Canadian Red Ensign.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Red_Ensign) ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadas-flag-is-50-years-old-today/712756/38 "2015-02-16T20:10:40Z")
Am I missing something – they changed the flag in 1957 just to turn the 3 leaves from green to red? Was there some other change – maybe the proportions of the components or something? ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadas-flag-is-50-years-old-today/712756/39 "2015-02-16T20:21:48Z")
The CBC radio show Rewind has a page on the history [**of the flag debate**](http://www.cbc.ca/radio/rewind/the-great-canadian-flag-debate-1.2950696) and a 55-minute audio (link at the top of the page) starting with a few 1958 interviews as part of the history leading to the debate; of the Liberal prime minister, Lester Pearson; and the PM prior to Pearson, Tory opposition leader John Diefenbaker, fulminating against it, along with an accusation by a Tory of Liberal dictatorship and comparing Pearson to Khrushchev. There’s a recording of Pearson giving a speech to the Royal Canadian Legion (and being loudly booed), a Diefenbaker interview where unsurprisingly he condemns everything, and after the bill is passed short interviews with Social Credit leader Réal Caouette, NDP leader Tommy Douglas (the father of medicare) and some unnamed Tory. Too bad the Commons didn’t have recordings other than Hansard. Dief was such an Elmer Fudd knee-jerk reactionary his own party turned against him. There’s also a short 1995 clip with 87-year-old George Stanley, who designed the flag and told of being threatened with death. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2015, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadas-flag-is-50-years-old-today/712756/40 "2015-02-16T20:23:12Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Am I missing something – they changed the flag in 1957 just to turn the 3 leaves from green to red? Was there some other change – maybe the proportions of the components or something? They good rid of the boobs on the harp too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadas-flag-is-50-years-old-today/712756.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadas-flag-is-50-years-old-today/712756.md?page=3)