National Flag of Canada

Since the year 1925, several initiatives were taken to get an official national flag for Canada, but none of the attempts were successful. In 1964, the prime minister, Lester Pearson appointed an all-party committee to furnish a design for a new national flag of Canada. Eventually the single leaf design was recommended by the committee which was further approved by the Parliament in 1964. The new official National Flag of Canada was inaugurated on 15 February, 1965. The inauguration ceremony was held in Parliament Hill, Ottawa in the presence of the Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, Governor General Georges Vanier, the members of the Cabinet and thousands of Canadians.

Description & symbolic representation of the National flag
The National flag of Canada is red and white in color and it is twice as long as it's width. The center of the flag bears a red maple leaf with 11 points on a white square background.

Flag protocol in Canada
The National flag of Canada is a symbol of honor and dignity for all Canadians and therefore it should be treated with utmost respect under all circumstances. The Canadian Heritage Department provides certain protocol for flying the National flag of Canada. Some of these protocols are:

•  The National flag of Canada must always be hoisted on its own mast. According to flag protocol, it is considered inappropriate to fly two or more flags on the same mast.

•  The national flag ought not to be used as a cover for any purposes such as table cloth or seat cover.

•  The national flag should not be disfigured by any writing or images.

•  On occasions when the national flag is hoisted or paraded, the people present should face the flag.