Canadian Red Ensign

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The Canadian Red Ensign is the former Flag of Canada, though it was never adopted as official by the Parliament of Canada. It is a British Red Ensign design, featuring the Union Flag in the canton, defaced with the shield of the Coat of Arms of Canada. (Note that the term "deface" is used in the vexillological sense, used when an element is added to another flag's design; it has no negative connotation as it might in normal use.)

Contents

1 History
2 Others
3 Use today
4 See also
5 External links

History

The Red Ensign was used as early as 1868 on an informal basis. From 1892, it became the official flag for use on Canadian merchant ships, though the official national flag on land was the Union Flag. Despite its lack of official status, the Red Ensign began to be widely used on land as well, and flew over the Parliament buildings until 1904 when it was replaced by the Union Flag. The original Canadian Red Ensign had the arms of the four original provinces on its shield. In 1922, the shield of the Coat of Arms of Canada replaced the provincial arms. In 1924, the Red Ensign was approved for use on Canadian government buildings outside Canada, and in 1945, the flag was officially approved for use by government buildings inside Canada as well, and once again flew over Parliament.

The Red Ensign served until 1965 when it was replaced by today's Maple 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. The picture (top) shows the official form between 1957 and 1965. A blue ensign, also bearing the shield of the Canadian coat of arms, was the jack flown by the Royal Canadian Navy and the ensign of ships owned by the Canadian government until 1965. From 1865 until Canadian Confederation in 1867, the United Province of Canada could also have used a blue ensign, but there is little evidence such a flag was ever used.

Others

Today, two Canadian provincial flags are Red Ensigns, the flag of Ontario and the flag of Manitoba, both of which were introduced when the Canadian Red Ensign was replaced by the Maple Leaf Flag. The Liberal government of Lester Pearson promised to introduce a new flag to replace the Red Ensign, as a means of promoting national unity and Canadian identity, by replacing what was seen as a symbol of the British Empire and colonialism, with one that would be more inclusive of Canadians who are not of British stock, particularly French-Canadians. In 1965, after the Great Flag Debate in Parliament and throughout the country as a whole, the Maple Leaf flag was adopted. Groups such as the Royal Canadian Legion and others who had sympathies with maintaining Canada's links to Britain opposed the new flag as they saw it as a means of loosening that connection. The leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, John Diefenbaker, was especially passionate in his defence of the Red Ensign. In protest of the federal government's decision, Tory governments in Manitoba and Ontario adopted red ensigns as their provincial flags.

Use today

The Canadian Red Ensign continues to be flown by some Canadians, especially monarchists, other traditionalists, and those who cherish Canada's British heritage. The Canadian Red Ensign is still flown (together with the Maple Leaf) in some Royal Canadian Legion halls, as well as by many individual Canadians, especially in parts of the country populated by the descendants of United Empire Loyalists. Most people who fly the Canadian Red Ensign today, however, also accept the Maple Leaf flag, and neither the Royal Canadian Legion, nor any other traditionalist groups advocate the return of the ensign as Canada's national flag.

In recent years, many far-right and neo-Nazi groups in Canada, particularly those affiliated with Paul Fromm, have attempted to appropriate the Canadian Red Ensign as a symbol of their movement to emphasize what they assert is their adherence to traditional Canadian values. Fromm's groups, as well as other white supremacist groups such as the Canadian Heritage Alliance, advocate the re-adoption of the ensign as Canada's national flag.

In recent years, some Canadian bloggers have added the Red Ensign to their weblog, often as a symbol of their conservativism or traditionalism. Many of these bloggers are known as Red Ensign Bloggers

In professional wrestling, the NWA World Heavyweight Championship belt uses the Red Ensign to represent Canada, although the current design was issued in 1972, long after the Maple Leaf became official.

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Canadian Red Ensign

History

Others

Use today

See also

External links