The flag's colours The national flag of Canada is a vertical triband of red and white. On the hoist and fly sides, there are two red vertical stripes and one white band along the middle. This maple leaf symbolizes Canada's cultural legacy as well as the rich natural resources located within its boundaries. The Canadian flag was first officially designated by Governor General Lord Dalhousie in 1818. Before then, various colors were used by different colonies to represent themselves. The original British colonial flag was blue with a yellow hand representing St. George slaying the dragon. This was changed when the Royal Family asked that the flag be replaced because the color combination was too similar to the flag of England at the time. Thus, the red coat with white sleeves and the white horse head on a blue field was born. In 1765, after the American Revolution had broken out, the former British colonies wanted their own flag. The new flag should reflect the independent nature of the country while still having a connection to the old one. People started using orange as a replacement for the blue column with a white star on it. However, this didn't last long since most countries weren't using orange flags yet. It took another eight years before someone came up with a red flag with a white circle inside it. This flag was used by several colonies during the Revolutionary War period (1775-83).