The Canadian flag has two vertical bands of red with white square between them; an 11-pointed red maple leaf is centered in the white square. Some say that left band of red indicates the Pacific ocean and the right band of red indicates the Atlantic ocean. The flag is twice as long as it is wide. The white square in the middle take up 1/2 of the width, while each of the red bands take up 1/4 of the width
Until 1965, Canada did not have its own national flag. Since Confederation, the Union Jack, the national flag of the United Kingdom, served as Canada's unofficial national flag. in early 1964 Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson announced that the government was hoping to adopt a new flag. In October 1964, after eliminating various proposals, the committee was left with three possible designs -- a Red Ensign with the fleur-de-lis and the Union Jack, a design incorporating three red maple leaves, and a red flag with a single, stylized red maple leaf on a white square. (Pearson himself preferred a design with three red maple leaves between two blue borders.)