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| Red Ensign used from 1957 to 1965 | |
| Use | Civil ensign[note 1]  |
|---|---|
| Proportion | 1:2 |
| Adopted | 1957 (earlier versions in 1892 and 1922)[note 2] |
| Relinquished | 1965 |
| Design | A red field, featuring theRoyal Union Flag in thecanton,defaced with the shield portion of thecoat of arms of Canada. |
TheCanadian Red Ensign (French:Red Ensign canadien) served as a nautical flag andcivil ensign for Canada from 1892 to 1965, and later as thede factoflag of Canada before 1965.[3] The flag is a BritishRed Ensign, with theRoyal Union Flag in thecanton, emblazoned with the shield of thecoat of arms of Canada.
The Canadian Red Ensign emerged as an informal flag to represent Canada as early as the 1870s and was used at sea[3] and on land "on all public buildings throughout the provinces,"[4] prior to becoming the country's civil ensign in 1892. The flag was adorned with the arms of the Canadian provinces until 1922, when the arms of Canada replaced the amalgamation of provincial arms on the ensign. During theSecond World War, the ensign saw use as symbol that represented Canada's armed forces. In 1945, anorder in council named the Canadian Red Ensign a "distinctive Canadian flag" to fly on government buildings. However, the ensign was never formally adopted as a national flag of Canada, with theUnion Flag used in that role until theMaple Leaf flag was adopted in 1965.[3] The Maple Leaf flag replaced the Canadian Red Ensign as the civil ensign of the country when it became Canada's first official national flag.
The ensign is theRed Ensign of the United Kingdom, embellished with theArms 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 theKingdom of France, the four founding nations of Canada. The first three quarters are the same as theArms of the United Kingdom. At the base is a sprig of three maple leaves representing Canada. The leaves are described asproper, that is, the natural colour; it uses red and gold, the colour of the leaves in autumn. An earlier version of the Arms of Canada and the Canadian Red Ensign, used from 1922 to 1957, was coloured green.[5]
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Canadian Red Ensign used from 1868 to 1922. Several informal variations of the ensign were produced in that time, altered by manufacturers' whims and the addition of other provincial arms on the ensign.
The Red Ensign bearing some sort of a Canadian emblem was used by Canadians both on land and at sea beginning as early as 1868 (soon afterConfederation) on an informal or extra-legal basis. As Prime Minister, SirJohn A. Macdonald "constantly made use of it", promoting it throughout Canada "by precept and example."[6] An 1891 memo from the Governor General, Lord Stanley, stated: "the Dominion Government has encouraged by precept and example the use on all public buildings throughout the provinces of the Red Ensign with the Canadian badge on the 'Fly.'"[4] In 1892, it was authorized by Admiralty warrant for use on ships registered in Canada and this was enshrined in theCanada Shipping Act of 1934, yet the flag had no legal status on land (theRoyal Union Flag remained the formal national flag of Canada until 1965).[3] Despite its lack of any official status on land, the Red Ensign with Canadian arms was widely used on land, and flew over theParliament Buildings until 1904 when it was replaced by the Union Flag. Various versions of the Red Ensign continued to be flown on land and the flag featured prominently in patriotic displays and recruiting efforts during theFirst World War. It can be seen in numerous photographs of Canadian troops, on the prime minister's car, and in victory parades.
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The original Canadian Red Ensign had the arms of the four founding provinces on its shield. However, in the late 19th and early 20th century, flag manufacturers would often supplement this design with wreaths of laurel and oak leaves and crowns. The design was frequently placed on a white background square, circle or roughly following the outline of the arms in the flag's fly (right hand side assuming the flagpole to be on the left). There was no standard design for the Red Ensign until the early 1920s. In 1921, the Government of Canada askedKing George V to order a new coat of arms for Canada. TheCollege of Arms thus designed a suitablecoat of arms of Canada. The new shield was formally adopted on the Canadian Red Ensign through order-in-council on 26 April 1922.[1][7] In 1924, the Red Ensign was approved for use on Canadian government buildings outside Canada.[7] The Canadian Red Ensign, through history, tradition and custom was finally formalized on 5 September 1945, when theGovernor General of Canada signed an Order-in-Council (P.C. 5888) which stated that "The Red Ensign with the Shield of the Coat of arms in the fly (to be referred to as 'The Canadian Red Ensign') may be flown from buildings owned or occupied by the Canadian federal Government within or without Canada shall be appropriate to fly as a distinctive Canadian flag." The flag was thus approved for use by government buildings inside Canada as well, and once again flew over Parliament.
The Red Ensign served as the country's civil ensign from 1892 to 1965 when it was replaced by today'sMaple Leaf flag. The flag bore various forms of the shield from the Canadian coat of arms in its fly during the period of its use. From 1922 until 1957, the Canadian Red Ensign was virtually the same, except that the leaves in thecoat of arms were green, and there was a slight alteration to the Irish harp (the earlier version having a woman's bust as part of the harp). Ablue ensign, also bearing the shield of the Canadian coat of arms, was thejack flown by theRoyal Canadian Navy and theensign of other ships owned by the Canadian government until 1965. From 1865 untilCanadian Confederation in 1867, theUnited Province of Canada could also have used a blue ensign, but there is little evidence such a flag was ever used. InOtto Reinhold Jacobi's painting of the new Parliament Buildings in 1866, a Red Ensign flies from the tower of the East Block.
In 2007, the Canadian Red Ensign was formally recognized as a "national symbol of Canada," by thePublic Register of Arms, Flags and Badges of Canada.[8]
The Red Ensign carried by the5th Canadian Infantry Battalion (Western Cavalry) at theBattle of Vimy Ridge in 1917 survives to this day, and is possibly the oldest Canadian flag in existence.[9] The battle was the first time all four divisions of theCanadian Expeditionary Force fought together during the First World War, and is viewed as a pivotal event in the history of Canadian national identity.[10][11]
The Red Ensign flown at Vimy Ridge in 1917 had the arms of Canada's first four provinces. In the Royal Warrant of 1868 assigning arms to the first four provinces of Canada, Queen Victoria authorized them to be quartered for use on the Great Seal of Canada and thus de facto they became the arms for Canada until 1921.[12] After the battle, the flag was donated to theImperial War Museum in the United Kingdom byLieutenant-Colonel Lorn Paulet Owen Tudor of the 5th Battalion, an Englishman who had emigrated to Canada before the war.[13][9]
The Imperial War Museum refused requests over the years torepatriate the Vimy Ridge Red Ensign to Canada, including a request in 2000 to acquire the flag for the ceremonies surrounding the dedication of Canada'sTomb of the Unknown Soldier. David Penn, Keeper of Exhibits and Firearms at the Imperial War Museum, called the flag "our most important First World WarCommonwealth artifact".[9][14] Eventually, after months of negotiations involving theRoyal Canadian Legion, the Imperial War Museum agreed to lend the flag to Canada to commemorate the opening of the newCanadian War Museum in Ottawa in 2005. The flag was returned to the United Kingdom in 2008.[13][9][14]
There is another Red Ensign in existence that was reportedly carried by Canadian troops at the Battle of Vimy Ridge, currently held by the Penticton Museum and Archives inPenticton, British Columbia. It is a simple red ensign, without a coat of arms.[13][9]
Though much less common than either the Maple Leaf or modern provincial flags, the several versions of the Canadian Red Ensign continue to be flown today both in official and unofficial capacities. In view of its association with theCanadian Army during the world wars, it is flown alongside the Maple Leaf flag at numerous war memorials, including theCanadian National Vimy Memorial in France. It is also used by veterans' groups, and is part of the official colour party (together with the Maple Leaf) of theRoyal Canadian Legion. The flag is sometimes flown on vintage ships, and at heritage sites where it is historically accurate.
In the 2010s, somefar right,white nationalist orwhite supremacist groups co-opted the red ensign, displaying it either alongside or instead of the Maple Leaf as a symbol of a monoculturally white Canada. These include theAryan Guard, the founder of theCanadian Nazi Party,white nationalist leaderPaul Fromm,[15] and the five members of theProud Boys who disrupted an indigenous protest onCanada Day in July 2017.[15][16]
The flag's appropriation by white supremacists produced an outcry from several groups, including the Royal Canadian Legion, the Canadian Centre for the Great War, and the editor of the history journalThe Dorchester Review, who stated that "trivializing, or treating as a kind of talisman of defiance, a flag that has a much more venerable and mainstream role" was wrong and "flies in the face of what the Red Ensign means".[15]
Before the adoption of the new arms of Canada in 1921, flag makers made the badge larger each time a newprovince joinedConfederation. This led to the creation of several unofficial but widely used variants of the Canadian Red Ensign.
At theopening ceremony of the1936 Olympic Games, a variant of the 1922–1957 red ensign with the arms inside a white disc was carried by Canadian Olympian and flag bearerJames Worrall. However, the normal version of the red ensign without the disc was hoisted alongside the other national flags that surrounded the perimeter of the stadium.[17]
Some of the variations are shown below.
![1868: The Canadian Red Ensign used at July 1 Dominion Day celebrations in Barkerville, BC in support of Canadian Confederation, as Canada did not have an official flag.[18]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aCaribou_Canadian_Flag.png)
1868: The Canadian Red Ensign used at July 1Dominion Day celebrations inBarkerville, BC in support ofCanadian Confederation, as Canada did not have an official flag.[18]
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1870: Until 1922, there were variations in displaying the shield on the flag: sometimes a white disk was added behind the shield, sometimes there would be a wreath of maple leaves or a wreath of roses, thistles, and shamrocks, and occasionally the shield was topped by a beaver or crown.
1871: Symbols were added to represent British Columbia. This version was rarely used and was overshadowed heavily by the 1868, 1870, and 1873 versions, all three of which remained in use until the early 1900s, while the 1871 version was never particularly common.
1873: The flag was modified to represent the new provinces ofBritish Columbia andPrince Edward Island. The badge was always placed on a white disk in this edition.
1896:British Columbia adopted a new coat of arms..svg)
1907:Alberta andSaskatchewan were added to the flag. The coats of arms ofBritish Columbia, Prince Edward Island, andManitoba took on their modern forms..svg)
Flag with 1922-1957 disc. The flag was carried by James Worrall at the opening ceremony of the1936 Olympic Games..svg)
Flag with 1957-1965 disc.svg)
Flag of the lieutenant governor of Ontario from 1959 to 1965, the 1957 Canadian Red Ensign with the shield of Ontario below the Union Flag.Today, two Canadianprovincial flags are Red Ensigns, theflag of Ontario and theflag of Manitoba. In 1965, after theGreat Flag Debate in Parliament and throughout the country as a whole, the Maple Leaf flag was adopted. The Red Ensign, however, retained broad sympathy including amongst many who desired a distinct national flag for Canada.[19] Ontario and Manitoba subsequently adopted their provincial flags in 1965 and 1966 respectively.[20][21]
Flag ofBath, Ontario
Flag ofLoyalist Township, Ontario.svg)
TheCanadian Naval Jack used from 1957 to 1965The CanadianBlue Ensign is similar to the Red Ensign. The flag was used as thejack of theRoyal Canadian Navy from its inception until the adoption of theMaple Leaf flag in 1965. The Blue Ensign was approved by theBritish Admiralty in 1868 for use by ships owned by the Canadian government. Carr'sFlags of the World says "The Blue Ensign is charged with the shield in the fly", and that the Blue Ensign "is worn 'as a Jack' for distinguishing purposes when at anchor, or under way and dressed with masthead flags".[22]
In 1937, the Canadian Government established that the Canadian Blue Ensign ("the Blue Ensign of the Dominion of Canada") would be used as a special ensign by the several Canadian yacht clubs with royal patronage which had prior to then used the British Blue Ensign (either plain (e.g., the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club) or defaced with a symbol unique to the club (e.g., the Royal Canadian Yacht Club)) as their special ensign. This usage lasted until the 1965 introduction of the Maple Leaf flag. Today, some Canadian yacht clubs use the Canadian Blue Ensign to commemorate this usage.
Otto Reinhold Jacobi included a red ensign flying from the East Block in his 1866 painting of the Parliament Buildings.
During the early 1990s anurban myth developed claiming that theU.S. flag was printed on the1986 series of Canadian banknotes. The myth stated that the US flag could be seen flown on theParliament buildings depicted behind Prime Minister SirWilfrid Laurier on the $5 banknote, SirJohn A. Macdonald on the $10 note andWilliam Lyon Mackenzie King on the $50 note. This flag was in fact the Canadian Red Ensign, which was contemporaneous with the three prime ministers, but in such a small size that it could be confused with the US flag.[23]
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