Canada Flags

This page will talk about the various provincial and territorial flags of our northern neighbor: Canada. Like the USA, Canada has some fascinating flags of their provinces and territories.

Before 1867, Canada was a part of Britain's growing Empire, as it gained independence, it began using various flags.

Unlike our nation: The USA, Canada has 2 main regions. The Provinces (in green) which get their power not just from the Canadian Parliament but also from the Canadian Constitution, the Territories (in brown) only get their power from the Parliament.

## Flags of the Provinces

### Ontario

First adopted in 1965, the flag of Ontario borrows from the old flag of Canada (which was used until 1964) which is a Red Ensign and is featured on other flags of Canada.

1. Like most flags of Canada, Ontario's flag has Britain's current flag on the upper left hand corner.

It also has the Province's Coat of Arms on the right.

2. On the top is the flag of St, George's Cross (the original flag of England).

3. On the bottom is the original symbol of Canada

### Quebec

Flags of Quebec go as far back as the early 19th Century, as a French group in Quebec (HQed in Montreal) called the *Parti Patriote* used this flag (which looks more like the Flag of Italy than France) for around 6 years until they officially dissolved in 1838.

In 1868, Quebec used this flag when Queen Victoria approved of Quebec's Coat of Arms.

1. Unlike the other flags, this flag used a Blue Ensign.

2. Like most Canada Flags, it also has Britain's flag.

The COA on the right has 3 segments.

3. The top had 3 Flower Lillies (in French it's *Fluer-de lis*) symbolizing Quebec's French Heritage and purity.

4. The middle had a Yellow Lion, which is a symbol of British Loyalty.

5. The bottom are the 3 famous Canadian Maple Leaves.

In 1902, Quebec changed it's flag to look like this, the "*Fleur-de-lis*" were put on the 4 blue squares of the flag, the design itself is a reference to the old French Monarchs as the white cross is on a blue colored background, the blue color is a symbol to heaven.

In 1948, the flag was changed to have the *"Fleur-de-lis"* to be straight up and re-colored white.

### Nova Scotia

Adopted in 1858, it is one of Canada's oldest flags. Nova Scotia (along with New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island) is a part of a region known in Canada as "The Maritime".

1. Almost the entire flag is a reverse color of the original flag of Scotland and it also uses the same colors as well.

2. In the middle of the flag is a Red Lion from the Province's Coat of Arms.

### New Brunswick

Adopted in 1965, the flag of New Brunswick is also heavy on it's British heritage.

1. On the Top of the flag is the Gold Lion from the Royal Seal of Great Britain.

2. On the bottom is a ship with oars (called a *Lymphad*) which symbolizes the ship building companies in the Province. Both are also on the Province's Coat of Arms.

### Prince Edward Island

This was adopted in 1964, once again this flag is a symbol of British Heritage.

1. On the top is a Gold Lion from the Royal Seal of Great Britain.

2. On the bottom (which is more interesting) has 4 trees. The big one on the right is Great Britain, and the 3 smaller ones on the left are the 3 counties in the province (King, Prince and Queen).

### Newfoundland & Labrador

This flag was adopted in 1980, and it's design is a bit complicated.

1. On the left there are 4 blue oblong triangles which symbolize the Atlantic Ocean (and the Union Jack).

2. On the right there are 2 triangles outlined in red which symbolize the hardships that the first settlers in the Province had to face, and the red and yellow shape symbolizes a bright future.

The white on both sides of the flag symbolize the cold weather in the Province.

### Manitoba

It was first adopted in 1966, and it bears a striking resemblance to Ontario's flag.

1. Like most Canada's flags it has the current flag of Great Britain.

The flag also has the province's Coat of Arms.

2. On the top is St. George's Cross (the original Flag of England)

3. On the bottom is a Buffalo (or is it a Bison, I can never get those 2 straight) but anyway, the Buffalo (or Bison) symbolize the wildlife in the Province.

### Saskatchewan

First adopted in 1969, the flag of Saskatchewan has a unique design of most flags of Canada.

This flag also uses a variation of the Province's Coat of Arms.

1. On the top an inverted color scheme of the British Royal Lion and it also has a blue colored tongue.

2. On the bottom are Sheaves of Wheat.

3. The green color on the top of the flag symbolizes the forests of the northern region of the Province.

4. The yellow color is s symbol of the wheat fields in the southern region.

5. On the right side is a Red Lilly (which is a common flower in North America).

### Alberta

Adopted in 1968, it also shows off the Provinces unique heritage.

Most of the flag is colored blue (no duh) which is sometimes referred to as "Alberta Blue" and in the middle is the province's Coat of Arms.

1. On the top is St. George's Cross.

2. In the Middle are the Rocky Mountains as well as lakes and rivers in the Province.

3. On the bottom are the Province's Wheat Fields.

### British Columbia

This flag was unofficially used in 1870 when the first settlers from Britain which used a Blue Ensign as well as the Union Jack and the Seal of British Columbia (which you can see has the British Royal Lion on a crown and the words B and C on it)

This official flag of British Columbia was adopted in 1960 and uses some interesting designs.

1. The Union Jack on the top has a crown on it, which symbolizes British Royalty.

2. On the Bottom has water and the Sun, which are symbols of the location of British Columbia and how the Sun sets into the Pacific Ocean.

## Territorial Flags

### Yukon

Adopted in 1968, this flag has some very interesting designs. The flag is a Tri-Color.

1. On the left is green which symbolizes the forests.

2. In the Middle is White, which symbolizes the cold weather and snow.

3. On the right is blue which symbolizes the lakes.

In the Middle of the Flag is from the Territory's Coat of Arms.

4. Sitting on top of the COA is the Malamute Sled Dog which symbolize their historical hard work for the people who lived there.

5. On the top of the COA is St. George's Cross defaced by a symbol which means fur (a commodity in the region)

6. On the bottom are several designs, the background is blue with 2 wavy lines going down the middle which symbolize the rivers, the red triangles are mountains and the yellow circles are gold.

7. Below the COA is a plant called *"Fireweed"* which native Americans use to make medicine.

### Northwest Territories

This flag was used in 1869 and it uses the same Red Ensign as on the old Canadian Flag.

1. The "HBC" on the lower right corner of the flag is a symbol for the "Hudson Bay Company" which did business in the territory in the mid to late 19th Century.

But by 1905 when Canada's Provinces were forming, the flag was discontinued.

In 1969 (over a century after the first flag) this flag was adopted. It is inspired by the Canadian national flag as it has Blue and White which symbolize the Water and Snow respectively.

In the middle of the flag is the Territories' Coat of Arms.

1. On the top is white with a blue wavy line going through, the white symbolizes the Arctic ice and the blue wavy line symbolizes the Northwest Waterway.

2. On the left there are also 2 colors: Yellow and Green which symbolize the Forests and Gold respectively.

3. On the right is red which symbolizes the Arctic, and the Wolf symbolizes the Wildlife.

### Nunavut

Nunavut: the largest of the Canadian Territories and the least populated, and the youngest (formed in 1999) had this flag adopted the year it was formed.

1. The object in the middle is a Landmarker that were made by the Native Inuit people who lived there, and it's colored red which is a symbol of Canada.

2. The Yellow (as well as the blue colored star) symbolize the territory's resources.

3. But the star on the right is more than just resources, it's also a symbol of the north star.

That is all for this page. Don't forget to check out my Games and Movies wikis, until next time this is JohnnyOTGS signing out.