The Progression of the Canadian Flag over time - History and Humour - Ask Abe

Canada's Flag from Macdonald to Trudeau - by Abe

The Old Flag

A 1891 re-election poster featuring Prime Minister John A. Macdonald (1815-1891) and what was even in those days known as "the old flag" of Canada.

The Old Flag

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Canadian Red Ensign (1957-1965)

The Old Flag gradually took on this iconic form to represent Canada:   

Red Ensign

The ensign is the Red Ensign of the United Kingdom, embellished with the Arms of Canada as a shield in the bottom right quarter. The shield is divided into four quarters, consisting of the coats of arms of England, Scotland, Ireland and the Kingdom of France, the four founding nations of Canada. The first three quarters are the same as the Arms of the United Kingdom. At the base is a sprig of three maple leaves representing Canada. The leaves are described as proper, that is, the correct colour; it uses red and gold, the colour of the leaves in autumn, whereas earlier versions used green. (Wikipedia)

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National Flag of Canada (The Maple Leaf) (1965-present) 

Maple Leaf

As you can see, the current Canadian flag is a new creation birthed during the hippy years. The 11 points are supposed to represent the 10 provinces united under one nation. Though, that rational doesn't really make sense, seeing as the leaf should represent Canada and the points the Provinces. Furthermore, the stem of the leaf also adds another point, bringing it to 12.

The maple leaf wasn't chosen at random. The importance of the maple leaf as an important Canadian symbol dates back to 1860 to when the Prince of Wales was visiting Canada. Representative of their ceremonial attire, the English wore their traditional roses, the Scots wore their traditional thistles, and Canadians needed something to wear as well, so they chose a maple leaf.

Red and white were proclaimed the official colours of Canada in 1921 by King George. White represents peace, purity, and honesty. Red represents hardiness, bravery, strength and valour.

The two red stripes adorning the left and right sides of the flag represent the Canadian lives sacrificed in WWI and WWII. (Quora)

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Flag of Inclusivity

a flag with colours

The Prime Minister of Canada, Justine Trudeau, sporting his preferred future Post Nation-State of Canada flag of inclusivity.

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Flag of Western Canada (future)

This flag is courtesy of the Western Independence Party.

As we have seen - historically, the Canadian Flag seems to change with evolving social norms. We have seen where it started with a Great Man (Macdonald), and where it is currently heading with an annoying little man-boy (Trudeau) - who claims Canada isn't a nation, but is a post-nation (whatever the heck that means!!). 

Yet Alberta and the West have a starkly different view of what our flag should be, and how this new flag would be representative of us. As such we humbly submit the future flag of Alberta (and our Western friends). We are not post-nation, we are post-Canada. 

written by Abe