Canada officially adopted the maple leaf flag in 1965.
The national flag, often called the Maple Leaf, has a red-and-white design with an 11-point red maple leaf at its centre. The two red vertical bands frame a white square, creating a simple symbol that is strongly associated with Canada.
Parliament approved the design in December 1964, and it was first raised on 15 February 1965. The date is now commemorated annually as National Flag of Canada Day. The maple leaf had already appeared on Canadian military badges, coins, and earlier symbolic designs before becoming the central emblem of the national flag.
Canada previously used the Union Flag and later the Canadian Red Ensign in official contexts. The modern flag was chosen partly to give the country a distinctive national symbol separate from British heraldic imagery.