Editing Flag of Canada (section)

==Origins and design==
{{See also|Maple leaf}}
[[File:Flag of Canada (construction sheet - leaf geometry).svg|thumb|upright=1.2|Construction sheet for the national flag of Canada]]

The flag is horizontally symmetric, so the obverse and reverse sides appear identical. The width of the Maple Leaf flag is twice the height. The white field is a [[Canadian pale]] (a central band occupying half the width of a vertical [[Triband (flag)|triband flag]], rather than a third of the width, named for its use in this flag);<ref>{{cite web|url =https://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/vxt-dvc1.html#canadianpale|title = Dictionary of Vexillology|first = Phil|last = Nelson|date  = January 2, 2010|work= Flags Of The World website|at= CANADIAN PALE }}</ref> each bordering red field is exactly half its size<ref name=colours>{{cite web|url=http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/ceem-cced/symbl/df11-eng.cfm |publisher=Department of Canadian Heritage |title=The National Flag of Canada: Colours Specification |date=January 1, 2003 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220170248/http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/ceem-cced/symbl/df11-eng.cfm |archive-date=December 20, 2008 }}</ref> and it bears a stylized red maple leaf at its centre. In heraldic terminology, the flag's [[blazon]] as outlined on the original royal proclamation is "[[gules]] on a Canadian pale [[argent]] a maple leaf of the first".<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.pch.gc.ca/eng/1385134851075| publisher=Department of Canadian Heritage| title=Description of the Proclamation by Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second which formalized the National Flag of Canada in 1965| date=December 13, 2013| access-date=February 15, 2015| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150215172105/http://www.pch.gc.ca/eng/1385134851075| archive-date=February 15, 2015}}</ref>{{refn|The flag was later registered with the [[Canadian Heraldic Authority]] on March 15, 2005 as "[[Gules]] on a Canadian pale [[Argent]] a maple leaf Gules".<ref name="CHAreg">{{cite web| url=http://reg.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/project.asp?lang=e&ProjectID=462| title=Registration of the National Flag of Canada| date=March 15, 2005| work=The Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges of Canada| publisher=Queen's Printer for Canada| access-date=May 18, 2010| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160727211226/http://reg.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/project.asp?lang=e&ProjectID=462| archive-date=July 27, 2016| df=mdy-all}}</ref>}}

The [[maple leaf]] has been a Canadian emblem since the 19th century.<ref name=Minahan2009>{{cite book|author=James Minahan|title=The Complete Guide to National Symbols and Emblems: Volume 2|year= 2009|publisher=Greenwood Press|isbn=978-0-313-34500-5|page=17}}</ref> It was first used as a national symbol in 1868 when it appeared on the [[coat of arms]] of both [[Ontario]] and [[Quebec]].<ref name=HannaMiddleton2008>{{cite book|author1=Jeanette Hanna|author2=Alan C. Middleton|title=Ikonica: A Field Guide to Canada's Brandscape|url=https://archive.org/details/ikonicafieldguid0000hann|url-access=registration|year=2008|publisher=Douglas & McIntyre|isbn=978-1-55365-275-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/ikonicafieldguid0000hann/page/79 79]–}}</ref> In 1867, [[Alexander Muir]] composed the patriotic song "[[The Maple Leaf Forever]]", which became an unofficial [[anthem]] in English-speaking Canada.<ref name=Irr1998>{{cite book|author=Caren Irr|title=The Suburb of Dissent: Cultural Politics in the United States and Canada During the 1930s|url=https://archive.org/details/suburbofdissentc0000irrc|url-access=registration|year=1998|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=0-8223-2192-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/suburbofdissentc0000irrc/page/69 69]}}</ref> The maple leaf was later added to the [[Arms of Canada|Canadian coat of arms]] in 1921.<ref name=HannaMiddleton2008 /> From 1876 until 1901, the leaf appeared on all [[Canadian coins]] and remained on the [[Penny (Canadian coin)|penny]] after 1901.<ref name=Cross2011>{{cite book|author=W. K. Cross|title=Canadian Coins: Collector and Maple Leaf Issues|year=2011|publisher=Charlton Press|isbn=978-0-88968-342-6|page=intro}}</ref> The use of the maple leaf by the [[100th (Prince of Wales's Royal Canadian) Regiment of Foot|Royal Canadian Regiment]] as a [[regimental symbol]] extended back to 1860.<ref name=Herd2012>{{cite book|author=Tim Herd|title=Maple Sugar: From Sap to Syrup: The History, Lore, and How-To Behind This Sweet Treat|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lxFBT5mLhJkC&pg=PA69|year=2012|publisher=Storey Publishing, LLC|isbn=978-1-61212-211-3|page=69|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140704222522/http://books.google.com/books?id=lxFBT5mLhJkC&pg=PA69|archive-date=July 4, 2014}}</ref> During the [[Military history of Canada during World War I|First]] and [[Canada in World War II|Second World Wars]], badges of the Canadian forces were often based on a maple leaf design.<ref name="Granatstein201">{{cite book|author=J. L. Granatstein|title=Canada's Army: Waging War and Keeping the Peace|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z7E-j1UWuOMC&pg=PA39|year=2011|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=978-1-4426-1178-8|page=39|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140704223418/http://books.google.com/books?id=z7E-j1UWuOMC&pg=PA39|archive-date=July 4, 2014}}</ref> The maple leaf would eventually adorn the tombstones of Canadian military graves.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://canadianmilitaryhistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Understanding-the-Cemeteries-and-Monuments.pdf|title=Understanding the Cemeteries and Monuments|publisher=Canadian Military History (Wilfrid Laurier University)|year=2005|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140418233747/http://canadianmilitaryhistory.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Understanding-the-Cemeteries-and-Monuments.pdf|archive-date=April 18, 2014}}</ref>
{{Multiple image|total_width = 270
| direction         = horizontal
| image1            = Arms of Ontario.svg
| alt1              = 
| caption1          = [[Coat of arms of Ontario|Arms of Ontario]]
| image2            = Coat of arms of Québec (1867-1939).svg
| alt2              = 
| caption2          = [[Coat of arms of Quebec|Arms of Quebec]]
| footer            = Maple leaves have been used on the arms of Ontario and Quebec since 1868.
}}
By [[Proclamation|proclaiming]] the Royal Arms of Canada, King [[George V]] in 1921 made red and white the official colours of Canada; the former came from [[Saint George's Cross]] and the latter from the [[France|French]] royal emblem since King [[Charles VII of France|Charles VII]].<ref name=birth>{{cite web| url=http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/ceem-cced/symbl/df3-eng.cfm| publisher=Department of Canadian Heritage| title=Birth of the Canadian flag| access-date=December 16, 2008| url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100224005050/http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/ceem-cced/symbl/df3-eng.cfm| archive-date=February 24, 2010| df=mdy-all}}</ref> These colours became "entrenched" as the [[national colours of Canada]] upon the proclamation of the [[Royal standards of Canada#The sovereign|Royal Standard of Canada]] (the Canadian monarch's personal flag) in 1962.<ref>{{cite book| last=Tidridge| first=Nathan| title=Canada's Constitutional Monarchy| editor-last=Thompson| editor-first=Allister| page=222| publisher=Dundurn Press| location=Toronto| year=2011| isbn=9781554889808}}</ref> The [[Department of Canadian Heritage]] has listed the various colour shades for printing [[ink]] that should be used when reproducing the Canadian flag; these include:<ref name=colours />
* FIP red: General Printing Ink, No. 0-712;
* Inmont Canada Ltd., No. 4T51577;
* Monarch Inks, No. 62539/0
* Rieger Inks, No. 25564
* Sinclair and Valentine, No. RL163929/0.

The number of points on the leaf has no special significance;<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/ceem-cced/symbl/df7-eng.cfm| publisher=Department of Canadian Heritage| title=You were asking...| access-date=April 13, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100430022232/http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/ceem-cced/symbl/df7-eng.cfm|archive-date=April 30, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> the number and arrangement of the points were chosen after wind tunnel tests showed the current design to be the least blurry of the various designs when tested under high-wind conditions.<ref>{{harvnb|Matheson|1980}}</ref>

The image of the maple leaf used on the flag was designed by Jacques Saint-Cyr;<ref name="Archbold, Rick">{{Harvnb|Archbold|2002}}</ref> Jack Cook claims that this stylized eleven-point maple leaf was lifted from a copyrighted design owned by a Canadian craft shop in Ottawa.<ref name="Eleven Point">{{cite web|access-date=March 9, 2012|url=http://www.canadasfourcorners.com/cfc/index.html|title=The Eleven Point Maple Leaf|publisher=Canada's Four Corners|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211115022/http://www.canadasfourcorners.com/cfc/index.html|archive-date=February 11, 2012}}</ref> The colours 0/100/100/0 in the [[CMYK]] process, PMS 032 (flag red 100%), or PMS 485 (used for screens) in the [[Pantone]] colour specifier can be used when reproducing the flag.<ref name=colours /> For the [[Federal Identity Program]], the red tone of the standard flag has an [[RGB]] value of 255–0–0 (web hexadecimal #FF0000).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/pt-te.nsf/eng/00132.html |title=Government of Canada FIP Signature |publisher=Industry Canada |access-date=August 7, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728214522/http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/pt-te.nsf/eng/00132.html |archive-date=July 28, 2012 }}</ref> In 1984, the National Flag of Canada Manufacturing Standards Act was passed to unify the manufacturing standards for flags used in both indoor and outdoor conditions.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/N-9/ |title=National Flag of Canada Manufacturing Standards Act |date=December 31, 2002 |publisher=Government of Canada |access-date=December 3, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220032246/http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/N-9/ |archive-date=December 20, 2016}}</ref>

The Flag of Canada is represented as the [[Unicode]] [[emoji]] sequence {{unichar|1F1E8|REGIONAL INDICATOR SYMBOL LETTER C}}, {{unichar|1F1E6|REGIONAL INDICATOR SYMBOL LETTER A}}.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://emojipedia.org/flag-for-canada/|title=🇨🇦 Flag for Canada Emoji|work=[[Emojipedia]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170606084242/http://emojipedia.org/flag-for-canada/|archive-date=June 6, 2017|url-status=live|language=en}}</ref>