What Happened to the Old Canadian Flag?

The Canadian flag is one of the most iconic in the world with it's red-white-red vertical tripartite division and maple leaf design in the centre. But this wasn't the only flag that has been used to represent Canada.
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[@brettwillis9145]

When the final design of the Canadian flag was chosen, they hired Canadiana Textiles, a southern Ontario textile factory, to make the first one that would fly on the Peace Tower on Parliament hill. That factory was owned by a naturally born Canadian man of Japenese descent that was interned during World War II. He sewed it himself and had to create a red dye that would not fade in the sun. That flag is currently in the museum in the House of Commons. That man was my grandfather.

[@Themapleleaforever]

epic story. and sorry to hear about the internment. I just happend to have finnished a project on that topic about 30mins before writing this comment.

[@pbilk]

Wow. What a story. Thanks for sharing.

[@avsgriffy]

Thank you for sharing that awesome piece of Canadian history!

[@legueu]

Ok, that's a pretty cool story.

[@rocksandforestquiver959]

That's pretty cool actually, guess you could say there's a little of Japan's Rising Sun shining through our Leaf

[@oliversherman2414]

Sending love to our Canadian cousins 🇬🇧❤️🇨🇦

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

John Cabot landed in 1497, not 1479. And Cabot is meant to be pronounced with the t as John Cabot was actually an Italian born as Giovanni Caboto. John Cabot is his Anglicized name. During the 500th anniversary of his landing, a commemorative sculpture that includes the Lion of St Mark, a symbol of Venice, was gifted to Halifax from the regional government of Veneto in memory of John Cabot's voyage since Caboto once lived in Venice. For the 500th-anniversary celebrations in 1997, Queen Elizabeth II along with members of the Italian and Canadian governments greeted the replica Matthew of Bristol, following her celebratory crossing of the Atlantic Newfoundland is pronounced with the same rhythm as “understand”. Newfoundland is pronounced that way because Newfoundland is a proper name. It's three words put to together as a compound. Because they are not three independent words anymore, they lose some stresses, and when a syllable in English loses stress, the quality of the vowel is reduced.

[@MaxwellAerialPhotography]

“aCsHuAlLy”

[@TheAwillz]

Damn Canadians with their low quality vowels

[@greatjoseon]

The Supreme Leader is so smart

[@caeruleusvm7621]

This all accords with what I, as a non-Canada/Brit/American have read and learned over the years. The date of 1479 was very perplexing. Columbus would be apoplectic. The Canadians seem very definite in their pronunciation of NEWfinned LAND.

[@joelsirola5440]

Still as finnish i find it funny that it's supposed to be pronouced as New Finland xd

[@jeroylenkins1745]

7:04 it's actually John Diefenbaker being pronounced the same as baker, someone who makes bread.

[@telebubba5527]

English can be quite difficult for a non native speaker, even for some native speakers. I've never heard of 'ensign' being pronounced like that either. It should be with a short 'i' (ensin, not ensain)

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

@@telebubba5527 I am a native English speaker and I pronounce 'ensign' the same way Hilbert does here. The pronunciation of 'Diefenbaker' is not an issue for non-native speakers, because the correct pronunciation is as per the spelling. Hilbert's error in proununciation was presumably due to the spelling error he made.

[@parmentier7457]

I believe Hilbert is Dutch just like me. We pronounce the names of where it comes from. In this case, Diefenbaker resembles a German name, and Hilbert pronounces this name in a German way.

[@ChristiaanHW]

​@@parmentier7457 i think Hilbert mentioned before he's (partially) Frisian, so yes Dutch. And yes in Dutch we (try to) pronounce names (people, places etc) in the way of where they come from. While Anglo-language places mostly pronounce names in a anglicized way (maybe because that's easier?) Like Van Gogh, in the English language that name gets butchered hard.

[@RealMajora]

@@telebubba5527 In most cases 'ensign' should be pronounced as you describe it, but the Canadian Red Ensign is specifically pronounced as stated in the video.

[@leopoldleoleo]

The fact that such a contemporary, design-by-committee flag came out so well is a minor miracle. I recall it winning some kind of flag popularity poll a while back

[@petergriffintv8315]

It looks like sh*t

[@rashakor]

Indeed, that is pretty much the only case known and why people are still trying to do anything by committee. 😂

[@Dralchemy]

well? people make fun of Canada's flag. its literally just a maple leaf.

[@tanler7953]

@@Dralchemy As opposed to three bars of different colors, or stars and bars, etc.? Many flags are ridiculous.

[@Bruvva_Wu]

​@@Dralchemywith two red fields. Representing our sacrifice in WW1 and WW2

[@gerryparker1390]

Love the Maple Leaf. I was alive for the switch over and was a fan back then too.

[@johnfitzgerald7618]

I was against changing the flag at the time but when I saw Stanley's design I changed my mind.

[@user-od2vn6ow1o]

I was against changing the flag then and believe we should have formally adopted the Red Ensign.

[@Gameflyer001]

Fun fact, when John Diefenbaker died in 1979, he expressly wished to have his coffin draped with the Red Ensign instead of the Canadian flag, though it was customary to be draped with the latter. Apparently the coffin was draped first with the Canadian flag and then supplanted by the Red Ensign over top.

[@clintongraves8806]

Yes,it was the flag of new coat of arms with red maple leafs.

[@guyl9456]

Yeah Dief the "old Lion" who thought of himself of immigrant german parents hated the French and anything French could not order a portion of fries in French. Amusingly the French voted for him "en masse" thanks to the intervention of Duplessis

[@user-qs7gx7rp7m]

Dief was the first to sell out a canada strongly united with still young veterans. Sold out our a/c industry & switched sides to the USA as their stooge. Politics hasn't been the same since. He was a fake conservative graced with a liberal rage in death.

[@mattfrankman]

Everybody after me: New•fin•land.

[@Allan_son]

New-fun'-land is as close I can get.

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

New Finland

[@rogerloger1935]

Newfiw or Newfif

[@matthewmorrisdon5491]

New Fun Land!

[@markstyles1246]

Newf-'n-l'nd

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

John Diefenbaker was leader of the Progressive Conservatives, not the Liberals! And it was three provinces in 1867 as at that time, Ontario and Quebec were united as the Province of Canada. As the result of the Confederation, Ontario and Quebec were split. I'm glad Canada ended up choosing its current flag. It's simple and iconic. The maple leaf's symbolism in Canada started in the early 1700s when French settlers/Canadiens along the Saint Lawrence River adopted it. Then at the inaugural meeting of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society in 1834, the maple leaf was one of numerous emblems proposed to represent the society. Jacques Viger, Montreal's first mayor, described the maple as "the king of our forest; the symbol of the Canadien people." Out of the provincial flags, I love the ones of the Atlantic Canada provinces the most. Like how on the Newfoundland and Labrador flag, the flag design is that of etchings on Beothuk and Innu decorative pendants worn hung from a cord around the neck. Blue for water, white for snow, red for effort, gold for their confidence. Or how on the New Brunswick flag, the big lymphad evokes NB's historical shipbuilding industry and the ships utilized by numerous Loyalists to land in the province after they fled from the US after the American Revolution

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

Although Upper Canada (Ontario) and Lower Canada (Québec) were briefly united into a single Province of Canada from 1849 to 1867, it's worth noting that they were separate colonies prior to that, were managed as two separate regions within the Province of Canada, and in 1867 were split into Ontario and Québec along the same border they had had prior to 1849.

[@olafsigursons]

there were not Canadian in 1700s. Geez

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

@@olafsigursons Canadien was the term for French settlers in the 1700s. Do some research, jeez

[@rockypecheur]

NL flag is clearly based on the Union Jack but very creatively incorporates the features you describe.

[@flargus7919]

I think as far as the provincial flags go most of them are pretty good, but I'd say Ontario and Manitoba have the worst/least interesting/least original of the lot. Ontario and Manitoba's were riffs on the old Red Ensign and chosen specifically as a reaction to Pearson's decision to adopt a new flag for the country (there was rural/conservative uproar about the new national flag casting aside British tradition, ties to the motherland, etc). The flags of Yukon and the Northwest Territories are okay, but I think Nunavut hit it out of the park. Worth a shout-out are the flags of the Francophone communities outside Quebec. I always thought the Franco-Ontarian flag was better than the actual flag of Ontario, and the Franco-Yukonnais flag is pretty nifty too.

[@mage1over137]

Apparently John Cabot landed in Newfoundland 13 years before Columbus landed in the Bahamas, and not in 1497.

[@alansmithee8831]

@mage1over. Perhaps he got confused by a Leif?

[@Twosidedyt]

Yeah I was about to comment about that

[@matthewhodgson7388]

Must be proof of time travel😂😂

[@alansmithee8831]

@@matthewhodgson7388 No doubt funded by Richard Ameryck to get the continent named after him. Whoever heard of Vespuccia? It would disprove the conspiracy theories that all the fish the English ate were not already coming from Newfoundland, kept secret for national and commercial interest, and that Columbus made them have to "find it new" to keep what they had. Yorkshire fishing boats are still just like Viking ships after all. The telescope is attributed to the Dutch, but there were suggestions the English kept their version secret before that, though some say it was a pirate copy. In modern times Britain and Germany both claimed TV, radar and jet aircraft. That time machine must be British?

[@TheAwillz]

Well prince madog got there in 1000 in a little coracle 😂

[@floxy20]

When I began school in the mid 1950s the flag in the classrooms was the Union Jack which was replaced a couple of years later by the Red Ensign. At the Montreal Forum the Union Jack and the Red Ensign were both displayed at this time.

[@tomrob3654]

The Maple Leaf was derided by its critics when it was adopted as a KMart flag, an insignificant geometric design symbolizing nothing. The first couple of years, the red colour varied considerably, from a sickly rust orange shade to a rather flamboyant pink tone of red. It took a while to formalize the colour and have the flag grow in popularity. It is now one of the most recognized national symbols in the world.

[@chamberpot969]

It's still a KMart flag.

[@groupewaite]

@@chamberpot969diefenbaker is dead, move on.

[@chamberpot969]

@@groupewaite The Maple Leaf is meaningless. It really does look like some vacuous corporate logo.

[@mrcuddlebuns1000]

@@chamberpot969yeah it really it horrible

[@TripReviews]

Not many liked it as I recall from my Ontario raised childhood in the 1960’s. My parents didn’t think anything of it and my British born grandfather hated it!

[@docjoe86]

0:25 John Cabot was in 1497, not 1479.

[@Ice_Karma]

4:32 Lester B. Pearson was the Prime Minister, not the "Governor".

[@leonb2637]

The maple tree in Canada is mostly found in Ontario, Quebec and parts of the Atlantic/eastern provinces, not so much in Western Canada or the First Persons Territories. Still, it is found where most of the population of Canada is. Although it doesn't have any blue for Quebec, the maple leaf does connect them to the flag. No matter what, it is a simple, elegant design that has become the symbol for Canada around the world.

[@davidfutcher9609]

We have a fair number of Maple trees on Vancouver Island too.

[@saphorr]

There are maple trees common in western Canada, just not the sugar maple, which the flag is based on. Look up "Manitoba maple".

[@charlesmclearn4642]

There are also many first nations territories in the east as well.

[@dnrspdr03canadian95]

They are literally everywhere in my Northern B.C town

[@avsgriffy]

Which "first persons" are you referring to? There are plenty in the first nations territories here i.e. Tyendinaga

[@infinitecanadian]

I still love the old flag (and the old version of 'The Maple Leaf For Ever').

[@mayageorge1847]

There was one more iteration of the Dominion flag of Canada that included seven provinces that was used prior to what is now the Canadian flag. This flag would have been used prior to and into the late 1920's, the flag flown in WW1.

[@williamcooke5627]

That ve rsion of the Ensign, though widely used, was never official..

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

There are many many versions of the pre-1922 flag because none of them were official. In fact even the 1922 flag wasn't official until 1945. I looked for examples of Canadian flags from WWI and I only see the 4-province one (such as the one at Vimy Ridge) or the 9-province one (on some recruitment posters). I've not yet seen the 7-province one anywhere during that time period.

[@mayageorge1847]

@@OntarioTrafficManthere were at least four of the one I mentioned, sent from Calgary in 1916, to the front. Two returned. They saw Vimmy, Albert, the Somme, and more. I wish I could post a photo. It i is hard to find all the flags sent as often they were buried with soldiers or just didnt make it. Also, older flags were often used as the flags were not issued individually but were shipped in bolt form and then cut apart as needed. Some communities had bolts of these flags for decades.

[@d.n.6989]

The new flag of 1965 was created in error, and should be regarded as such? I don't think Quebec ever had in mind a flag without a historical memory to the founding of Canada? The Parliament of Canada should seriously consider the return of the red ensign, The flag had meaning, unlike the current empty Maple leaf! Quebec has its own national flag that they fly with pride, so too should Canadians who reject an empty, blank, individualist, historically inaccurate, globalist flag! Bring back the Canadian Red Ensign!

[@rocksandforestquiver959]

@@mayageorge1847Yes, many iterations were widely used, particularly as new provinces would add themselves to locally produced flags. The Arms of Canada and thereby the Canadian Red Ensign only ever had 3 official versions despite 5-9 province ensigns of various designs having existed.

[@johnhockenhull2819]

I was always taught that ensign was pronounced ensun. I see by searching online that the UK pronunciation is ensun. Other English speaking countries, as with many words, use different pronunciations.

[@telebubba5527]

In Australia it's also 'ensun/ensin' (it's somewhere in between)

[@talpark8796]

🙄

[@Allan_son]

​@@telebubba5527 The technical name for that vowel is schwa. "Ensən". Strangely the most common vowel sound in English is never taught to native speakers!

[@xleplex7070]

I’m British and I didn’t know that we said Ensun. It might be a case of Americanisation from the internet, but usually when we talk about ensigns in English we refer to British ensigns, so an Americanisation wouldn’t make much sense in this context.

[@johnhockenhull2819]

@@xleplex7070 There are connections to the Royal Navy on one side of my family and I have memories of the difference between the Blue Ensign and the Red Ensign being explained to me at a very young age - always pronounced ensun.

[@someguy3766]

The Maple Flag is a very good flag. It's simple, iconic, nice to look at. That being said, I do like the Canadian Red Ensign more. Also very nice to look at and it has a lot more history behind it.

[@MrWassup45]

the Red Ensign design wise is just not very good, replacing the crest with a gold maple leaf wouldve improved it dramatically

[@B_Van_Glorious]

@@MrWassup45 I'm with ya. The Canadian flag is vexillologically a masterpiece of design. While it's cool that Britain, then the UK, had a system set up for different parts of their empire, every.one. of those flags are atrocious. They are all function, no form. A good flag has no words, is simple, direct, iconic. It should be the first thing seen as fog breaks, with no confusion about whose colors are flying. It should reflect the strength of the nation. The Union Jack is a masterpiece of design. Hong Kong's flag, Japan's. Arizona. New Mexico. The NZ Laser Kiwi; S tier. The Nordic flags. The Cascadian flag. A tier.. A flag can have too much going on too. Eg. Hawaii. British Columbia. D tier. Now look at, say, Oregons flag. Utter.Garbage.

[@The_Ballo]

It's a corporate logo. Soulless, meaningless, and a harbinger of things to come.

[@someguy3766]

@@MrWassup45 You say that, but the US Flag is a modified red ensign and I think most people would agree it's a very good and iconic flag. I do agree with you that the Canadian Red Ensign could use some improvement though - the crest is a bit messy. I like the idea of a gold maple taking its place, would look very nice indeed.

[@mayageorge1847]

@@B_Van_Glorious well said!

[@CharCanuck14]

I was a 11 year old, standing at my classroom window while watching the old flag being removed and the new maple leaf flag raised. I remember crying as I was saying goodbye to the only flag I knew. Now I feel we have one of the best flags in the world. This was a great video that filled in the gaps I had about the flag change. Thanks so much Hilbert!

[@webcelt]

I wondered why the Canadians changed their flag, albeit not very hard or I could have looked it up. That makes sense francophones wouldn't regard the Union Jack warmly, and I imagine First Nations might have felt the same way. A problem with the crests is they're just a blotch of colors from a distance, too detailed for a flag. Weirdly, given a consensus mess you might expect from a committee, they came up with something instantly striking.

[@12what34the]

Lol first nation's didn't have much of a say at that point, we just got the vote a few years earlier

[@KaiHenningsen]

Yeah. All those cresty flags, why are these bad ideas so popular? They all seem to forget the purpose of a flag. Less is more!

[@johnfitzgerald7618]

The Liberals on the committee deked the Progressive Conservatives out of their shorts. The final vote was between the Pearson and Stanley designs. The PCs, perhaps figuring that Pearson's ego was as big as Diefenbaker's (sic) and that he would insist on the Liberal members voting for his design, voted for Stanley's. Then they found out the Liberal, New Democratic, Social Credit, and Créditiste members had all voted for Stanley's design, just as they had agreed to do before the vote. So the Liberals got a unanimous vote to take to Parliament for a flag that met their criteria and was the better design.

[@guyl9456]

Not really you ysurself stated the reasons we are not in Australia here so it makes sense we got rid of the (nice but ridiculous) old one.

[@flargus7919]

It would have been more than just Francophones. Canada was (and is) a country of immigrants and even by the early 20th century there was an ever-growing population in English Canada that did not originate from the British Isles and felt little attachment to Britain or the Empire. Dumping the Union Jack was just another step along the path of Canada removing itself from Britain's orbit, much as it had when it created the Royal Canadian Navy in 1911 (instead of simply giving Britain money for warships), or when it gained control of its own foreign affairs in 1931, or signed mutual defence treaties with the US during the war, or went against Britain during the Suez Crisis.

[@jarvy251]

In terms of "Brand recognition" it's hard to beat the Canadian Flag

[@jonathanmitchell2040]

You missed my favourite part of the story: the way the Maple Leaf flag won out over the Pearson Pennant in committee. It was pretty certain the PCs on the committee would vote for the Maple Leaf, assuming that the Liberal committee members would vote for the Pennant. This would have result in a deadlock that would leave the Red Ensign as the de facto flag, like the PCs wanted. So the Liberals got together with the committee members from other parties to agree to vote on the Maple Leaf too. The committee vote ended up unanimous (much to the PCs chagrin). And that's how the Maple Leaf even made it to the floor of the House of Commons in the first place.

[@bobseven310]

Pearson's choice was ugly. I preffer the Red Enseign, but the Maple Leaf is the better of the two proposals.

[@rocksandforestquiver959]

@@bobseven310Go look at the Canadian Ww2 battle flag/ land forces command flag, I think something like that or possibly a red version of it with gold leaves would have been an awesome national flag

[@sartanawillpay7977]

The Red Ensign meant a great deal to many veterans who had fought under it in two world wars and Korea, regardless of ethnic background. PM Pearson (though a veteran himself) was so tone deaf about this he thought that the Royal Canadian Legion convention was the appropriate place to announce the search for a new flag. His speech was drowned out by angry booing.

[@loneprimate]

The country had been calling for its own flag for generations; Quebec was on the verge of revolution because its identity had been denied for centuries... but it was Pearson who was tone deaf, not the vets. A man looking to address the realities of his country in the latter half of the 20th century, versus the men looking to hold onto a fantasy of it from the first half of the 19th.

[@joshwenn989]

@@loneprimate Yes, it _was_ Pearson who was tone deaf. Cope.

[@darkbrightnorth]

Not of all backgrounds. First Nations and native Canadians as well as French vets were also happy to see that imperialist symbol of Canadian submission gone.

[@baatar]

Who cares what the French think? Canada is a British Anglophone nation

[@captlazer5509]

​@@baataruh nope. Oldest professional hockey team? Montreal Canadiens founded 1909, Toronto Maple Leafs 1917. Cope.

[@kingjoe3rd]

Here's a question, why did Canada use the red ensign and Australia/NZ use the blue?

[@skaldlouiscyphre2453]

Australia actually does have a red ensign of their own, same with NZ. The Aussie red ensign is their civil ensign to this day. Merchant and pleasure vessels in NZ can fly the red ensign if they choose. Maori also prefer it. Further, Canada has a blue ensign, it was used by the navy until 1965. Broadly speaking, the blue ensign was reserved for ships in public service or commanded by an officer from the naval reserve, the red ensign is more associated with merchants. The red ensign was the preferred civil ensign in Canada and Australia. Officially, the Union flag was Canada's national flag until 1921 but the Canadian Red Ensign was so popular it was the de facto national flag for most Canadians. Australia strongly encouraged civilians to use the red ensign as well, even though the government used the blue ensign. In the case of Australia the blue national flag gradually became more popular, in the case of Canada an entirely new flag was adopted. Canada's blue ensign remained obscure, Australia's was adopted by the government and gradually became the main flag in people's minds. There's no inherent reason Australians couldn't have ended up favouring the red ensign.

[@Tay12345]

@@skaldlouiscyphre2453they do have red versions but they are the civil ensigns And Canada had a blue too!

[@Hogtownboy1]

The nations below the equator use the blue and above use red as that was the tradition of the Merchant Marines. The alternate is uses for other depts of government.

[@Copium6921]

Australia has a Red and Canada had a Blue the reason for this was that the Blue was meant to be Naval and Red the normal flag but the blue ended up being more popular in Australia and New Zealand and people used it as the normal flag so blue was made the normal flag for Australia and New Zealand but the red is still an official Australian and New Zealand flag

[@rocksandforestquiver959]

The Red Ensign in particular was an extremely widespread and recognized flag in North America basically from the time serious English settlements started. The original English red ensign was made the Merchant flag in the mid 1600s and so flew on many ships in the New World. Although never intended for use on land, the Red Ensign was in practice flown on land quite frequently. This was for a number of reasons. Firstly, the Union flag, which had existed since the very early 1600s, was primarily seen as a symbol of Royal Authority or affiliation and so it was common practice in the new world for anyone flying a flag that WASN'T specifically a civil/ royal or military official would often fly their ensigns instead. The various trading companies in the eventual US and Canada used red ensign flags widely during their inland explorations, and frequently flew them over their forts and outposts, again generally to distinguish themselves from the Government or the Army. The Red Ensign (still un-defaced of course) was generally understood to represent the American colonies by the time of the American Revolution, and during that conflict specifically became a symbol of American Loyalists, many of whom would go on to provide the largest basis for the English population of Canada and the Maritime Colonies, both of which had been largely populated by the French prior to that, particularly Canada (By which I mean Ontario/Quebec). So between it being a common symbol of the average British citizen/ merchant, the Loyalist /Anti-US connotations and the widespread use of it by trading companies across most of what would eventually become the Dominion of Canada, there was a lot of identity associated with the Red in particular.

[@Cdr_Mansfield_Cumming]

Like it or not, the UK’s Union Flag is part of Canada’s history. The brilliance of the relationship between Canada and the old country is one of mutual love (I hope) for each other. I can say people in the UK really do look to Canada with fondness and a great deal of respect. You guys are working hard at ploughing your own furrow. It must be especially hard with your neighbour to the south.

[@chrisreynolds3204]

After living through the disaster that Canada has become, I would rather be an American.

[@goldenretriever6261]

JT is trying his hardest to end that relationship.

[@Cdr_Mansfield_Cumming]

@@goldenretriever6261 I am sorry to hear that. I suspect because of his French ancestry. The thing is, the UK would fall in front of a train for Canada as Canada has twice before. Canada is still the country where most British people emigrate to. It will be a sad day if JT achieves his aim.

[@rollingthunderinho]

pathetic@@chrisreynolds3204

[@flargus7919]

@@goldenretriever6261 End what relationship? Canada and the UK remain allies via NATO, and Canada is still both a member of the Commonwealth and has King Chuck as head of state. What has happened - and happened decades before Justin Trudeau was even born - was that Canada gradually removed itself from Britain's orbit in order to forge closer ties with the United States, but also independently on the world stage. One could say that process started back under Laurier and arguably reached its conclusion under Pearson, but generally always under Liberal governments (as they were historically the nationalist party, and before the 1970's the PC's/Conservatives the party of WASPy Anglophiles). Unless I've missed something, I don't think Justin Trudeau has really done anything to harm the country's relationship with the UK.

[@ricdavid]

I'm a lot more critical of my home country now than I used to be, but hot damn do we ever have a good flag. If you wanna get technical (and why not) it's called the Canadian Pale, because the middle band is a square. I am also called a Canadian Pale, because I don't get enough sun.

[@ziggypop79]

You still see the old flag a lot around Ontario

[@Allan_son]

I don't, but I do see the very similar Ontario flag.

[@WanukeX]

@@Allan_son That was intentional, the Ontario flag was adopted right after the Canadian flag in 1965 by the PC provincial government as a red ensign in response to the new canadian flag.

[@Cadmann778]

​@@Allan_sonLegion and Corps. buildings often have one somewhere inside in my experience, as well as some cenotaphs, along with the Ontario flag.

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

@@Cadmann778 Yes you do see the Red Ensign at Legion or historical sites such as military memorials for pre-1965 conflicts, but that's pretty much the only place you see it.

[@The_Ballo]

Irony.

[@WanukeX]

10:44 - Important note, both the Ontario and Manitoba red ensign flags were adopted in 1965 *after* the adoption of the canadian flag, as a sop to people opposed to the new Canadian flag. Before that, the provinces (except quebec) didn't have their own distinct flags, and just used the red ensign as well.

[@flargus7919]

And as a result, Ontario and Manitoba have arguably the worst/least original of the provincial flags. I imagine there were people in Ontario and Manitoba back then who saw all the other great provincial flags getting unveiled and thought "Wait a second, New Brunswick has a boat on theirs? How come nobody said we could put boats and stuff on these?" and then had a good cry. I think Nunavut's flag is a masterpiece.

[@Anonymity4LDAF]

The leader of Canada is called the Prime Minister, not the governor. The right of center party was called the "Progressive Conservative Party", not the "Progressive Liberal Party". And I am pretty sure Cabot didn't beat Columbus to the Americas.

[@olafsigursons]

yeah, was called, because sadly now they are more born again Christian/Trumpist who just parrot the idiotic US GOP.

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

No, the leader of Canada is the British Monarch, and since they're almost never in Canada their role is fulfilled in practice by the Governor General. In practice the Governor General is a purely symbolic role and they delegate all decisions to the democratically elected House of Commons and undemocratically selected Senate.

[@nonnayerbusiness7704]

​@OntarioTrafficMan Regardless, Lester Pearson was the Prime Minister and the video called him a governor. Lester Pearson was neither a governor nor a governor general.

[@darkbrightnorth]

@@OntarioTrafficManthat’s a constitutional formality. No British monarch or Governor General would ever dare interfere without the PM ordering them around. They know their time is at an end

[@darryldarwent3676]

​@@darkbrightnorthActually in 1926 the GG of the day, Lord Byng, refused to dissolve Parliament as requested by Prime Minister William Mackenzie King. Lord Byng wanted the Conservative Opposition to have a shot of forming a government because they had more seats in the House of Commons. In June of that year the Conservatives formed a government, but fell one month later on a vote of non-confidence.

[@CoryAlbrecht]

Lester B. Pearson was Prime Minister when the flag was adopted. There is no position in the Canadian government called "Governor". There is the Governor-General, but that is a purely symbolic position. Other people have mentioned other errors, which were really simple and careless because they were not all that difficult or unknown. (I'm not talking about pronunciation of names.) Your content is interesting, and I hope you will take more care to be more accurate in your future videos.

[@CaillouThePimp]

Agreed. I appreciate him talking about Canadian culture but these simple careless errors deter me from watching his other content, as I don’t know what is fact or what he just decided to make up.

[@cazalorganism7020]

A video on the histories of both the cuban and puerto rican flags would be awesome. Love your vids man. ✌🏽

[@jasonkoch3182]

AThis is nit picky, but the red ensign contains the coat of arms, not the crest. The crest is what stands on the helm above the coat of arms.

[@jamesvandemark2086]

On a motorcycle trip to Canada in 1980 there was a big media campaign to promote the Canadian flag. Just write in and they'd send one for free! So, I sent a postcard & they mailed one to me. In Minneapolis. I still have it!

[@Tay12345]

Wow I love to collect flags I wish that happened today (with another country though, I have Canada’s already)

[@loneprimate]

That's kind of cool. :)

[@francisdesjardins5913]

Also in the 90s, it was a way for the Federal government to fight Quebec separatists, which also led to the Sponsorship scandal in 2004 and the liberal defeat of 2006.

[@kevinhendryx665]

The Maple Leaf flag, the national flag of Canada, is a fine design, aesthetically pleasing and suitable for the nation. I also admire the provincial flags of Nova Scotia and Quebec for similar reasons. Long may they wave!

[@bobseven310]

I'm not a huge fan of the Nova Scotia one, not sure why. It feels a bit cheap. It's basically Scotland's flag, but, INVERTED! Blue st-andrew's cross on a white background instead of a white st-andrew's cross on a blue background. Wow... With the scotland lion in the middle just to re-iterate "Scotland", since the flag was "too modified" or something and needed another callback? Just feels a bit tryhard. In comparison, Ontario's flag feels more like a sincere attempt at conformity with a local touch, instead of "copy my homework but make it look different" like NS. Some people hate the Red Enseign-based provincial flags, but I actually quite like them, they are much more authentic. Québec's flag is great for being it's own thing, full of symbolism, without feeling like a cheap permutation/callback.

[@rocksandforestquiver959]

@@bobseven3101: If NS removed the ancient arms of scotland from the coat of arms/ flag, it would just be the Russian Naval Ensign 2: The Flag of Quebec is ABSOLUTELY NOT "it's own unique thing" it's literally just the old Bourbon French merchant ensign without the bourbon arms. There were other flags similar to the current Fleurdelisée before it was adopted that bore more similarity to the old ensign. It's literally just a modernized take on the French version of a red ensign which is why it's hilarious that people always say Quebec's flag is perfect and rip on Ontario 😂

[@bobseven310]

@@rocksandforestquiver959 I don't rip on Ontario's flag, though. In my eyes, the best provincial flags are Québec's, Ontario's, and Manitoba's. Just as I don't rip on the "seal on a blue drape" for the US state flags. But Nova Scotia's flag is a different category. Perhaps I don't know enough about it, and am biased by finding it ugly, but the province is "New Scotland", so it uses Scotland's flag, "but inverted, and with a seal". It's basically trying to be as much Scotland as possible, without being literally the same flag. That's why it passes off as "tryhard" and derivative, in my eyes. Yes, without the coat of arms it's the russian naval ensign... they don't need to have a blue cross on a white drape though. I'm sure there would have been a better way to either re-use scotland's colours, or the St-Andrew's cross, than just "the same, but inverted". As for Québec's flag, I invite you to share which bourbon flag you are talking about. Some old flags do have similarities, but to me they still are in a quite distinct category from NS's, and one major factor is that these aren't currently-used flags one is attempting to imitate as much as possible without being a literal copy.

[@rocksandforestquiver959]

@@bobseven310 Yeah I didn't mean you by the ripping on Ontario part

[@rocksandforestquiver959]

@@bobseven310 Also I meant to add, the NS flag actually has a pretty interesting story. The arms that form the current banner that serves as our flag were actually originally designed for the first Scottish colony that was called Nova Scotia prior to the Acts of Union in 1707, which is why it bears such similarity to Scotland and shows its ancient pre-union arms. It was a colony and arms for a colony that were funded and issued directly by the Scottish crown/ parliament. The original scottish colony failed, first permanent successful settlements were French. The area continued to be referred to as Nova Scotia by the English world as well as its newer french name Acadia. First permanent British settlements came in the early 1700s and established the modern Nova Scotia. Virtually the entirety of Acadia was conquered by or surrendered to Britain by the end of the 7 Years' War and large parts of the French population deported. Nova Scotia's original Scottish arms had basically been forgotten by this point and Queen Victoria issued new arms to the British colony of Nova Scotia in 1867 which looked completely different from the ancient/ current arms (gold with a blue wavy stripe, salmon and 3 thistles) and that was Nova Scotia's coat of arms from 1867 until 1921 when someone rediscovered the original pre-UK arms and they were brought back. The banner of those arms used as our current flag has been used in a number of forms since around the 20s but was not made official by the Provincial Government until pretty recently because nobody noticed. Long IK but maybe you'll read 😂 but TLDR there IS a very good reason the flag is so heavy on scottish symbols.

[@kevincowling7730]

The old red ensign is awesome.

[@Spongebrain97]

The Canadian flag I think is pretty well designed, unique, and iconic that it's interesting how there was some push back against it back in the day

[@DuckBoxer669]

A lot or Canadians back then were either immigrants themselves from England or their recent relatives were. Many of them felt a very strong connection to the UK and wanted to keep that in Canada. I think changing the flag to something that is undeniably Canadian was a good idea back then as it gives Canadian identity to the Canadians who aren’t British.

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

There is pushback right here right now in this very comment section.

[@darkbrightnorth]

@@OntarioTrafficManyeah but that’s not a real thing in day to day life. Only flag nerds and the far right want the old flag over the new one these days. The old flag is show unpopular a majority of Canadians from most provinces now want to remove some or all British symbolism from provincial and city flags.

[@baatar]

Looks like the Peruvian flag 🇵🇪

[@beepboop204]

Lester B Pearson masterfully played politics in order to get his flag

[@dnrspdr03canadian95]

Yeah like not letting the public vote because he knew he'd lose

[@beepboop204]

@@dnrspdr03canadian95 we live in a representative democracy not a plebiscitary democracy, you goof

[@dnrspdr03canadian95]

@@beepboop204 well I think it's important that things like this are voted on, just because a liberal was voted, doesn't mean people wanted their flag changed, same thing with Mackenzie King, he didn't want Canada to go to war in WW2 but he knew it would have been extremely unpopular amongst Canadians if he said no and so knowing what the population wanted, he agreed to declare war and stand with the Empire even though he disagreed, he still thought of the people and that's what matters, not the "I'm in charge, I can do whatever I want now and nobody else matters," sort of attitude that you see with toxic liberals like Pearson.

[@beepboop204]

@@dnrspdr03canadian95 lmao mmhhmm, who cares how our system actually works, when we can virtue signal about HOW ID DO IT BEAUSE IM BETTER

[@dnrspdr03canadian95]

@@beepboop204 didn't say I was better, said there was a better way that made everyone happy but nowadays it's about making one people happy and making another mad, it doesn't matter if Pearson was legally allowed to change the flag with or without public support, but he simply should have put more thought and care into what people wanted which is pretty much what politicians are supposed to do for the people. Like i said, doesn't matter if it was legal, it's about being moral and caring for the people which shows that liberals like him don't care about the people, anyways goodbye now.

[@micahistory]

really interesting video, thanj you for covering this

[@johnbunker5102]

I had the privilege of meeting John Matheson personally on several occasions. A truer gentleman and patriotic Canadian than you will ever meet. In the late 70s, Judge Matherson told me this story himself. ( The day after I had "rescued" the car keys his lovely wife had locked inside her car. For the second time in about a month 😊😊). A wonderful couple all around. The Judge was definitely instrumental and his legacy is the Canadian Flag.

[@djvarley1]

The two provincial red ensign flags (for the provinces of Manitoba and Ontario) that you showed at the end of your video were not adopted until 1965. Prior to that, those provinces used the national red ensign. They adopted their own provincial red ensign flags as a reaction to the national red ensign being replaced by the maple leaf flags. From a branding and design perspective, the current Canadian flag is a good one. It is immediately identifiable as the flag of Canada.

[@abcjuniormilton]

The current one isn't bad, but the Red Ensign is much better. It has symbols representing Canada's British & French founding heritages, incorporates the Union Jack, and even has not one but three maple leaves. Canada's current flag looks kind of blander in comparison. Australia, New Zealand and many other former British colonies use the Union Jack in their flags, I see no reason why we shouldn't.

[@davidreichert9392]

@@abcjuniormilton Australia, New Zealand and Tuvalu are the only independent nations that still use a British Ensign. All others have grown up. We are not British North America. We are not America Jr. We are Canada, and I love that we have a flag that says exactly that.

[@nairbvel]

I knew the Canadian flag was a recent design, but I didn't realize it was younger than I am! I can't help but think (and yeah, I'm a Yank so may be slightly conditioned to think this way, LOL) that it was a good idea to have the national flag leave behind the colonial designs; Canada has developed its own identity in many ways and the national flag is an excellent representation of that fact.

[@Shmerpy]

We're still trying to figure out how to get the 'British' out of British Columbia...

[@loneprimate]

@@Shmerpy I suppose we could just call it "Columbia" at this point, but I have a feeling the abbreviation of "B.C." is here to stay, somehow, even if we did change that.

[@Shmerpy]

@@loneprimate I like the BC part. We just need another B word.

[@rocksandforestquiver959]

If the population had been given a direct vote, the flag would not have been changed, plain and simple. Nobody cared about "colonial" symbols, a Liberal government went out of their way to remove as many British symbols as possible from the public eye. Had nothing to do with unity, it was a liberal government selling out to a minority in Quebec that has massively more voting powers than the rest of the country. They avoided a referendum because they knew they would lose.

[@darkbrightnorth]

@@ShmerpyBoreal Columbia?, like aurora borealis

[@craigweidhuner6295]

I remember my mother telling me they were holding contests to design a new Canadian flag when she was in high school.

[@py8554]

So the maple leaf was already present in the old flag!

[@Copium6921]

Yeah 3x as well the old flag is just better in my opinion in fact when the new flag was announced people booed and the guy who designed the new flag got death threats the Red Ensign would have most likely won a referendum on a new flag

[@Ice_Karma]

Loving your content, so here's some pronunciation tips to help you make it even better! "Cabot" sounds like "cabbit". The second syllable of "ensign" rhymes with "sin", not "sign". "Newfoundland" sounds like "Noofin' Land" -- primary stress on the first syllable, secondary stress on the last. It's "Diefenbaker", not "Diefenbacker", and the last two syllables sound exactly like "baker".

[@choiwaynekiet]

I was just about the post the exact same thing

[@johnfitzgerald7618]

The pronunciation of fleur-de-lys with a final s is acceptable in both English and French, but as I recall he uses both pronunciations.

[@Ice_Karma]

@@johnfitzgerald7618 My bad, and thank you for pointing that out; I've edited my comment to remove that. 😻

[@johnfitzgerald7618]

@@Ice_Karma It was still a good post, though. My comment was really just a quibble.

[@ecampbell17]

I have three flags at my home. The Union Flag, the Canadian Red Ensign, and the maple leaf. I ordered them in my preferential order. The Union Jack to symbolise our common monarchy and brotherhood as Commonwealth nations, The Canadian Red Ensign to show our history and what our soldiers fought under in the two world wars and beyond, and the Maple Leaf flag as our modern flag. 🎶 God save our King and heaven bless the Maple Leaf forever! 🎶

[@XYZ_55]

That's nostalgia speaking to you. Monarchies have no place in current society. We should break all ties, and the current provincial flags with the union jack need to be changed. BC should be renamed to just Columbia.

[@ecampbell17]

@@XYZ_55 easily the stupidest thing I've heard all day. I take far more pride in the monarch than I do in our current Prime Minister. This country is built on the Magna Carta and English common law. We use the Westminster system, along with the other commonwealth realms. The United States isn't far away if you want to reside in a republic. Their presidential system is turning out real winners these days 🥸

[@XYZ_55]

@@ecampbell17 at least you vote for the prime minister or president, and the winner is representative of he population. A monarch is someone with no actual ability to lead a nation, and is selected because some dumb bastard proclaimed 100s of years ago that they had royal blood. It is utter nonsense.

[@geoffreydonaldson2984]

I was a school boy when the flag changed. My dad worked for CBC news so the controversy was discussed at our dinner table. Everyone in our family supported the change-even though there was considerable resistance across the country. There was of course reaction from conservatives who typically cited the United Empire Loyalists who migrated to British North America, not least the area of Upper Canada where we are from (about 15 generations since my father’s forebears landed in New England and eventually became refugees -UEL-of the American rebellion, crossing the Niagara River in 1780), but also by french-speaking Québécois who wanted another new flag (since they never did like the Union Jack canton of the Red Ensign). But I recall my dad-who was a WWII vet-was proud of the new flag because it represented progress. And, besides, our provincial flag of Ontario looks almost identical (except for the heraldic arms) with the old national Red Ensign. I see you note two of a number of Canadian provinces which still feature the Union Jack (for example, the flag of British Columbia-the original being the flag of the Hudson Bay Company which had a Crown commercial charter over the two colonies of Vancouver Island and New Caledonia (the two colonies were joined before confederation to Canada-then thousands of miles away-in 1871). I remember Prime Minister Lester B Pearson presenting the three-leaf flag-but I always suspected it was a ruse and the single-leaf flag was ready to replace it as a somewhat insincere conciliatory gesture. I also remember making a lapel pin of my own flag: it was a white field with a single red maple leaf. But that wasn’t what got me into trouble at school: it was the words “Canadian Republic” which I wrote underneath. Now, I probably couldn’t tell the difference between a republic and a constitutional monarchy at the time-I just suspected it would get a rise out of somebody-and it did: the school principal to whom I was sent by the class teacher for a lecture on the evils of republican government and the glory of our Queen. He relieved me of my pin and sent me back to class. He met me at the school bus next day to relieve me of the replacement pin I made overnight-a single red maple leaf on a white field, but this time with red lines radiating from it like the war flag of Imperial Japan. I just thought it looked cool. He didn’t. I rather like the Canadian flag, but I now have one with West Coast indigenous motifs on it-which, during our recent celebration of the Truth and Reconciliation Day (Sept 30), was seen everywhere (symbolizing the now-official policy of reconciling eleven sovereign Canadian governments with hundreds of indigenous nations-or “First Nations,” as we now call them-“Indian” is now an offensive pejorative even though our Constitution uses that term and the federal “Indian Act” remains in effect and with that name). But racist sentiment still exists: I saw a letter to the editor of our local newspaper from someone who claimed to be offended by the stylized flag-even claiming that it was itself “racist” against white people. Oh well, we’ll get there eventually.

[@kilowhiskey7973]

I’m glad Canada made the switch. The simple maple leaf sums up their entire identity to be honest. They’re too culturally removed from their former colonizers to have a colony flag. It would be inappropriate to continue that flag. It’s a step in the right direction for establishing identity.

[@Mobin92]

Those provincial flags at 10:55 kinda infuriate me... The designs on the small crests are so nice, why not make them the full flag?

[@stevemccrea2688]

definitely needs a proofreader

[@Jack908r]

A friend of mine's father was involved in the flag debate at the time, and had some great stories of the contentious debates the new flag proposal sparked. In meeting with the PM he was told this is going to be the new flag, and it wasn't the one we have now. Lol. I'm so glad we got the flag we got. Its one of the most unique, yet simple designs out there. And of course one of the most recognisable. Also, I'm sorry, but your pronunciation is hilarious.

[@michaeldowson6988]

The red & white ground on our flag was used as identifying marks on our armoured vehicles in WWII. The flag of Montreal comes closest to recognizing our roots. It is the modified Cross of St. George with the French fleur de lis, English rose, Scots thistle, Irish Shamrock, and First Nations golden pine portrayed.

[@bobseven310]

The pine is a new addition, left by a megalomaniacal mayor looking to leave his mark everywhere he could get his grubby little hands on. While I get the symbolism, it makes the flag look so much worse than it used to.

[@robert3987]

The Canadian maple flag certainly stands out. I've assumed the old flag went because Ontario didn't like it.

[@loneprimate]

Didn't like it? Hardly. Ontario liked it so much, they ripped it off. Ontario didn't have a flag of its own until after Canada ditched the Red Ensign, and then it immediately scooped it up and stuck its own shield in the fly. So did Manitoba.

[@groupewaite]

As the official provincial flag of Ontario is the Red ensign, adopted after the federal parliament approved our current national flag, how did you come up with that erroneous conclusion?

[@XSpamDragonX]

I like walking into flag stores here in Canada and asking for the Red Ensign. The number of store attendants that get visibly upset at the thought of someone flying the "colonialist" flag is always funny.

[@Woistwahrheit]

I've an apartheid-era flag hanging in my room

[@darkbrightnorth]

As they should be. Why would someone want an unpatriotic symbol of Britain and colonialism rather a patriotic Canadian flag

[@niggalini]

@@darkbrightnorth the Red Ensign was as significant to Canada in history as the Maple Leaf flag is to Canada in modernity. Its just an obvious attempt to ape the US's political-social-cultural climate by turning the Red Ensign into a facsimile of the Confederate Stars-and-Bars and pretend its the rallying banner of the "bad guys". Meanwhile, the Red Ensign is what Canada flew in the fight against Nazis in WW2 - it is absolutely a patriotic symbol. And for the record, I like the maple leaf flag, I don't really care about changing it back or whatever

[@XSpamDragonX]

@@darkbrightnorth Because every year that goes by the current flag becomes more and more of a symbol of the Canada I don't want to live in.

[@floxy20]

The Red Ensign is the official flag of the Province of Ontario.

[@heronimousbrapson863]

The crest (shield) on the red ensign of 1921 was slightly modified in 1957.

[@francisandroid4469]

This was very informative, and I thoroughly enjoyed it; frankly, I learned a lot. Thank you, Hilbert, for making this video. If it is possible, would you mind annotating that Cabot date? Of course, I realize this is just a typo (the 7 and 9 being switched, obviously), but I worry that children might misunderstand this as predating the more infamous date of 1492 (i.e., Columbus). In any case, do carry on, Good Sir.

[@recognizesealand572]

At the end you said we sometimes use the Union Jack which is just not a thing

[@stevelapointe180]

I think everyone loves the current design for the flag. There really aren’t any strong feelings of nostalgia for the old flag in Canada anymore.

[@VectorTracker]

Do you think that is because of acceptance or because people don't know the history of their nation? It would be an interesting study

[@darkbrightnorth]

@@VectorTrackermostly the first one and because people are increasing aware of the history and oppression towards most groups that happened under the symbolism of that flag and it’s modern connection to far right movements in Canada, as well as the province of Ontario have made it unpopular to various degrees to most Canadians.

[@normanwells2755]

I detest it.

[@hunterchristopher5792]

There's plenty of people in this country who despise the current flag and you live in an echo chamber of your own beliefs apparently. The red ensign and the union jack will always be the flags that represents me and any other Canadian of British descent that recognizes their legitimate ethnic and cultural connections to our mother country. Just because you're a rootless degenerate, doesn't mean every other person in this country is too

[@dnrspdr03canadian95]

​@@darkbrightnorthI'm guessing fighting the Nazis hell bent on world domination skipped your history class didn't it? Whatever, Canada is failing and it's because of the liberals and everything they represent, hell they didn't even let the actual citizens vote on which flag they wanted Because they knew it wouldn't have passed because what this video fails to mention in many aspects and even completely lies in many points is that this flag change was extremely unpopular during the time.

[@kdarby7535]

Veterans called it 'Pearson's Pennant" they served in two world wars under the Red Ensign. One design had the outer edges blue, as a kid that was my favourite. Quebec didn't want red, white and blue because those were the colours on the Union Jack.

[@maxhoffmann6821]

When the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1763 that made the French cede Canada to the British, the King’s Colours were still in use. The current flag was not introduced until the “union” with Ireland in the early 1800s.

[@alansmithee8831]

Hello Hilbert. As someone from UK, it is nice to keep links with countries that share a history, via the flag. I do like the Canadian flag though. Having been there, I see how the union flag could be a symbol that distinguished the country from the US, but the "new" flag does this too. I just knew, before you mentioned the Frisian flag, that you could not leave it out. I must have commented before that I got talking to a French speaking Canadian lass in Vancouver, who looked Irish. She explained that some Catholic Irish had settled in Quebec. We seemed to be getting along, but I realised she was just being a friendly Canadian, whatever the language. Funnily, my girlfriend is half Irish by ancestry, though she has a Yorkshire accent like mine. I often wonder if my French sounds like something from Ripping Yarns episode Eric Olthwaite to a native speaker? P.S. Columbus sailed the ocean blue in fourteen hundred and ninety two. No mention of Leif? I did not think you would leave Erikson out?

[@Game_Hero]

A franco-colombian then. They have a really nice flag.

[@alansmithee8831]

@@Game_Hero If you mean the British Columbia flag, it grew on me, but looked liked they butchered the union flag when I first saw it. I did catch a roller blader before they went over a bit of a cliff edge in Stanley Park. It felt like I just had to arrive at that spot half way round the world at that moment. It reminded me of TV series Quantum Leap, only a good job Al was not a hologram this time.

[@Game_Hero]

@@alansmithee8831 No no, not the British Columbia flag, the Franco-Colombian one, it's a different one.

[@alansmithee8831]

​@@Game_Hero. I checked on Google. Strange to think there are less folk in BC than my county of Yorkshire, yet 1.5% of them have their own flag. This is less than the population of the Manningham area of Bradford that I grew up in.

[@Game_Hero]

@@alansmithee8831 Indeed. It's the history of a diaspora trying to survive assimilation that lead to it being this way. It's kinda similar to the diasporas in Nordic countries in each other countries like the Forest Finns.

[@cyberspacekosmonaut]

Diefenbaker's party was the progressive conservative.

[@jpthornton1952]

Actually, at that time, they were just called the 'Conservatives'. The word 'Progressive' was added later.

[@steve3425]

@@jpthornton1952 The Conservative Party added ‘Progressive’ to its name in 1942. When Diefenbaker was PM, he was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party.

[@rb239rtr]

Prime Minister Pearson had a fiery speech in front of the Royal Canadian Legion, who did not want the ensign to go. Pearson said that the flag will be as Canadian as the Maple leaf on their lapels.

[@DrFiero]

@8:30 -- the one on the left should be for "Canadian diver down". :D

[@CrimsonRaven51]

I actually remember the old flag. My grandfather immigrated from Ontario, Canada. When I was a little boy, we used to go to Canada every summer. I remember when the new flag came out with the maple leaf. I liked the old flag.

[@loneprimate]

Feel free to hoist the Union Jack over your cottage whenever you like.

[@baatar]

@@loneprimatehow about you stop harassing people for having a different opinion

[@Jen-lg4hp]

I like the old flag and how it incorporates the Irish harp- RIP to all Irishmen who fought for Canada in the Great War and their descendants in Canada today.

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

RIP to all the Chinese-Canadians who risked their lives building the Canadian transcontinal railway (a enormous number died), and to their descendants in Canada. Where is their spot on the old flag? And where are all the emblems of all the native nations who were already in Canada before the Europeans arrived?

[@loneprimate]

I'm a Canadian who's also an Irish citizen. Canada has a flag, and Ireland has a flag. I don't need a harp on my Canadian flag any more than I need a maple leaf on my Irish flag. They're two different countries with two different histories and two different destinies, friendly and culturally-intertwined though they may be.

[@loneprimate]

@@OntarioTrafficMan Yeah, exactly. Canada's flag should represent _all_ Canadians, and _just_ Canadians... no one else.

[@Jen-lg4hp]

Who helped found your country? English, Scots, and Irish who brought symbols important to them from their old countries. It honours them, their good intentions, their blood and sacrifice. Flags have meaning and much of it is historical.@@loneprimate

[@brad5426]

@@OntarioTrafficMan God rest their souls but shame on you for prancing on their graves to make your childish point. Chinese aren't on the flag because they didn't found the nation. They came much later and helped build railway but they weren't there when the English, scots, arrived to create Canada. Natives helped, but not every nation were the founders of Colonial Canada. That was the Europeans that did it.

[@douglaslandry7740]

I am Canadian love our flag. I am glad they changed it when they did because nothing is changed anymore. I look at the flag of Ontario and changed but nothing gets done. It’s been like this for the last 40 years plus.

[@revinhatol]

BRITISH RED, FRENCH BLUE, THE TWO WENT FIGHTING, NO ONE REALLY WINS TRUE.

[@flaviusstilicho397]

Can you please do a video for the old flags for New Zealand and Australia

[@Copium6921]

They don't really have old flags the red ones are still official flags

[@kobsak1]

1) the Suez Crises occurred in 1956, not 1957. PM Lester Pearson won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for his idea of UN peacekeeping troops. 2) Minor spelling & pronunciation observation: John Diefenbaker (without the "c") is the correct spelling of the PM preceding Pearson's premiership. Since there is no "c", the third syllable in Diefenbaker is pronounced similar to one who makes bread.

[@Andrew-gn9qp]

I prefer the original suggestion for the flag of Canada, which was the Red Ensign with a large golden Maple Leaf. The problem I have with the current flag is that it contradicts our coat of arms, which is symbolises England and France. We have two contradictory symbols of Canada, the neutral Maple Leaf flag, and the English-French coat of arms.

[@rb239rtr]

the red also represents Protestants (England) and the white represents Catholicism (Quebec)

[@npcimknot958]

What u suggest is a tacky design 😂😂😂😂 the maple,leaf is iconic around the world.

[@MrBobbyBrown2006]

Interesting video, but with some mistakes. It would be best to see a little more due diligence in these videos, considering they are educational based. I would recommend reaching out to people of the country that you're talking about to confirm the authenticity of some of the information you're providing, prior to releasing the video. - Cabot landed in 1497, not 1479. - Cabot's named is pronounced as it's spelled. The "T" is not silent. - Newfoundland was pronounced incorrectly, even in the attempt to say it right the second time in the video.

[@tanler7953]

I would add that John Diefenbaker was head of the Progressive Conservative Party, not the Progressive Liberals.

[@actually-will1606]

An American flag evolution would be a long video but great topic (I say as someone from the UK). Knowing why certain amounts of stars were added. All the variants of the flag at the start of American history such as the Gadsden flag and the sons of liberty flag.

[@KenDavies-qv3fs]

The old flag including the Blue and White Ensign shows the history of Canada while the new flag shows nothing but contempt.

[@samkohen4589]

Actually Lester Pearson felt that with the centennial coming in 1967 a new flag was essential. However it is very similar to that of Peru which instead of a maple leaf has a llama in its place

[@FredericRPerreault]

In fact, the official flag remained the Union Jack and not the Red Ensign, which was a merchant navy flag until well into the 20th century. At 2:38, you mention that the arms of Canada shown on screen represent the provinces, but, though that was the case for the arms of 1869 granted by queen Victoria shown at 2:38, it is not the case for the arms shown at 2:41 which represent the founding peoples of Canada (which do not include natives, because this was a time where though they were acknowledged to have preceded the said founding peoples, they were not seen as founders of Canada as a political entity). The three lions obviously refer to the English, the red lion to the Scots, the harp to the Irish and the lys to the French with the three maple leaves referring to the three provinces that instigated the project of union: the province of Canada (Ontario and Quebec), the provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

[@Fyrdman]

Hilbert's videos can be questionable at times. The idea of Canada having a national flag didn't pop up till WW1 where the Canadian national identity started to really kick off.

[@Allan_son]

John Cabot's name is not pronounced "Cab-oh". It is an anglicised version of Caboto, with a pronounced "t". Even if it were a French name, as it might appear, in the 15th century final "t"s were still pronounced in French.

[@johnkilmartin5101]

It might just be possible to get a kindergartner to draw the current flag but a Red Ensign, forget about it!

[@loneprimate]

I'm ethnically British on both sides with a long military history down my dad's side, up to and including him. Even so, I don't regret the change, and neither does he. Canada isn't Britain. The British here are just part of the fabric, though it has to be said, the one the pretty much set up most of the institutions we live by. But our symbols need to represent all of us, but none of us, if you see what I mean. They have to say just "Canada", not single out the ethnic groups who happen to live here. And that maple leaf they came up with is, let's be honest, really something. It's bold, iconic, and unique; it stands alone and wherever in the world it's seen, people know what it represents. Frankly, I think it's a work of quiet, humble genius that we're truly lucky to have.

[@jeffyoung60]

Keep the modern Canadian flag. It's simplicity is its beauty and the artistic message of less is more embraces all Canadians. Yet keep the Canadian Ensign as a wartime battle flag. The Canadian Ensign brought Canada to ultimate victory in World War Two, Canada's greatest moment of glory in its history. It should be remembered for that.

[@chamberpot969]

The maple leaf is meaningless.

[@danc1513]

@@chamberpot969 Speak for yourself

[@ShirleyMarquezDulcey]

The current flag is much better heraldry than the older flags. It fulfills an important mission for a flag: it can be recognized easily from a distance. Its simplicity of design and its large single charge (the symbol in the middle) are the keys that make it work so well.

[@earnesta.brooks7123]

For those interested, a birch tree also has a sap that can be used but it may not have sugar in it. Tapped maple trees in season, but occasionally a birch tree, just for fun to test it. It flows much slower and is probably less productive with sugar content. Anyway, I would have to be very desperate to try tapping a birch tree, but you use what you have available.

[@bobseven310]

Birch can be tapped, but the sugar content is lower and so needs to be boiled a whole lot more. Some companies do it. Apparently tastes like molasses.

[@sriharshacv7760]

8:35 The one on the right = ❤ child of England and France lol. Very creative.

[@bryanrobinson8886]

Yeah it is a good flag. I have a few items with the Canadian/Canadien flag and it is pretty simple and iconic. The flag stands for the idea of a place not so much a people or ethnic group of various types. Even the flag pin I have is pretty good to stand out when on Canada Day since I don't leave that close to Canada. People almost instantly realize it is the Canadian flag and really isn't what a flag is supposed to be? Yeah the providences have their own distinct cultures and heritages but the national government is different because it has to be the embodiment of them all. Cheers.

[@v.sandrone4268]

i love the boxing kangaroo flag used at sporting events because it is distinct as the Australian flag is so easily confused with many other Commonwealth countries especially the New Zealand one.

[@bryanrobinson8886]

@@v.sandrone4268 Yeah I could see how people might confuse the two. Plus, they are in close proximity to one another as well. I think that New Zealand and Australia both should drop the union jack of the United Kingdom and use more national symbols like a boxing kangaroo (for Australia) or kiwi bird (for New Zealand). There is nothing wrong with changing a national flag.

[@freebeerfordworkers]

No disrespect to Canada but I always thought the old Canadian flag really wasn't quite suitable. It was virtually the British merchant navy's red ensign with the Canadian arms on it. In case nobody knows the red ensign is flown by all British ships from rusty coasters to ocean liners and the merchant navy call it the red duster.

[@darkbrightnorth]

Most Canadians agree with you and love the new flag while hating the old one. It’s only ultra conservatives and weirdos that like the old flag, as well as flag nerds.

[@WyomingTraveler]

Like this video, I have always wondered what it happened to the old is Canadian flag. So it’s

[@chong2389]

I remember the contest quite well. I was in favour of Pearson's Pennant. It supported the motto of Canada "From sea to Sea" and included the colours of both the Union Flag and the Flag of France. But, red borders won out. It is the most politically innocuous flag whose symbol is representative of a major feature of the largely inhabited part of the country - the maple. I can see where some Canadians of French descent would not agree to its attempt to be neutral, since a British king had decreed the maple leaf to be the symbol of Canada earlier in the century.. BTW...in actuality, the 'missions of exploration' were commercial enterprises.

[@kurt4320]

Excellent presentation. Two points I imagine you did not have time to draw out. 1) Irish-Canadians probably had little interest in the Union Jack as part of the Canadian flag, as well as the francophones. 2) The French in Canada came mostly before the French Revolution and at least before the Quiet Revolution, were mostly Catholic. Hence the French tricolor was not something they would identify with, but instead with the fleur de lies.

[@guyl9456]

Not excellent he made several important mistakes most of the info was there though. As for your comment I totally agree with it and indeed the Quebec Flag has 4 fleur de lys on it but the Acadian one (Francophones living in Maritime Canada) is the tricolor with a yellow star.

[@gfin4576]

7:08 I think you meant to say "the progressive Conservative Party" here, but otherwise great video!

[@JacquesPPage]

Québec's Legislative assembly was renamed Assemblée nationale on December 18 1968, many years after the events you mention when you say that the Assemblée nationale rejected the projected Canadian flag.

[@billsandford3901]

I fly the red maple leaf most days. As a Veteran on important days to the regiment I fly the regimental flag (not the colours) & on UN day I fly the Un flag. I also fly the Army’s, RCAF & Canadian forces flags.

[@groupewaite]

Why the shade against the RCN?

[@rubicon24]

ensign is pronounced with a schwa so it it's more like en-sen, not en-sain.

[@CoryAlbrecht]

That depends on dialect. There is no one true pronunciation of the word.

[@patrickblanchette4337]

6:44 This is a really cool flag & I would love for it to make a comeback in some capacity.

[@Spindacre]

Both of them are beautiful banners, I think.

[@rixx46]

PM Lester Pearson remains the only Canadian ever to with the Nobel Peace Prize: In 1957, for his role in resolving the Suez Crisis through the United Nations one year earlier, Pearson was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The selection committee argued that Pearson had "saved the world", but critics accused him of betraying the motherland and Canada's ties with the UK.

[@kingpredator117]

Remember, Independence was not won but gifted.

[@waynejohnson1786]

We’re not even truly independent until we cut ties with the monarchy

[@Brody-Aleksander]

"Independent"

[@Brody-Aleksander]

​@@waynejohnson1786which hopefully never happens... unless Red Ceasar rises in the US and invades us, in which case I'm down for a new Crown

[@SamAronow]

Canadian independence was won at Passchendaele and awarded by the Great Depression.

[@tisFrancesfault]

@@waynejohnson1786 Eww; what French ting to say...

[@rickdeckard7098]

1945 seems to be more and more the founding year for many countries.

[@withremnanthearts]

The boomer truth regime.

[@Raptor810Blue]

@@withremnantheartswhat?

[@Nn-3]

1945 isn't a big year for Canada. More important are 1867 (Confederation), 1931 (Statute of Westminster), 1939 (waiting 7 days to join WW2), 1965 (flag and anthem) and 1982 (independence and constitution).

[@B_Van_Glorious]

Part of America's Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe demanded the release of colonial holdings as condition. America felt that global empires would ignite into global wars more often than not. The US themselves gave independence to the Philippines in 1946 (which they had acquired after the Spanish-American war of 1898). That's why in the late 40's, up to the early 60's, we see the founding of so many nations.

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

Okay... but Canada isn't one of them...

[@tomhill7796]

The eleven points of the maple leaf represent the 9 provinces and two territories ( at the time - now three territories).

[@vertox78]

What happened to bottom edges of leave on the end? Why didn't you mentioned it?

[@Jobe-13]

Canada didn’t wanna be seen as an extension of Great Britain. The US flag also had the union jack in its flag when it was the 13 colonies. For the same reason I imagine. Just as a symbol of being its own entity with self determination.

[@-AirKat-]

@@samuelmartin8052what? There are 9 rows of stars, each star representing each state in the Union

[@baatar]

The US flag had to change because it became a separatist republic. Canada was and still is a British constitutional monarchy.