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The maple leaf is the characteristic leaf of the maple tree. It is the most widely recognized national symbol of Canada.


History of use in Canada

By the early 1700s, the maple leaf had been adopted as an emblem by the
French Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...
s along the Saint Lawrence River. Its popularity with French Canadians continued and was reinforced when, at the inaugural meeting of the
Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste The Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society (french: Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste) is an institution in Quebec dedicated to the protection of Quebec francophone interests and to the promotion of Quebec sovereignism. It is known as the oldest patriotic assoc ...
in 1834, the maple leaf was one of numerous emblems proposed to represent the society. Speaking in its favour, Jacques Viger, the first mayor of Montreal, described the maple as "the king of our forest; ... the symbol of the Canadian people." The maple leaf slowly caught on as a national symbol: in 1868, it was included in the coat of arms of Ontario and the coat of arms of Quebec, and was added to the Canadian coat of arms in 1921. Historically, the golden maple leaf had represented Ontario, while the green maple leaf had represented Quebec. In 1867,
Alexander Muir Alexander Muir (5 April 1830 – 26 June 1906) was a Canadian songwriter, poet, soldier, and school headmaster. He was the composer of ''The Maple Leaf Forever'', which he wrote in October 1867 to celebrate the Confederation of Canada. Early l ...
composed the patriotic " The Maple Leaf Forever", which became an unofficial anthem in English-speaking Canada. From 1876 until 1901, the leaf appeared on all Canadian coins, and remained on the
penny A penny is a coin ( pennies) or a unit of currency (pl. pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. Presently, it is t ...
after 1901. During the First World War, badges of the
Canadian Expeditionary Force The Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) was the expeditionary field force of Canada during the First World War. It was formed following Britain’s declaration of war on Germany on 15 August 1914, with an initial strength of one infantry division ...
were often based on a maple leaf design. The use of the maple leaf as a
regimental symbol A regimental symbol is a distinguishing emblem used by soldiers during times of war. Usually, it is some easily identifiable icon that can be displayed on uniforms, vehicles, and buildings to alert others of the nationality of the respective milita ...
extended from the 1800s, and Canadian soldiers in the Second Boer War were distinguished by a maple leaf on their sun helmets. In 1957 the maple leaf colour on the Canadian arms was changed from green to red – some maple leaves are commonly red even in spring as they bud and no seasonal colouring has been assigned heraldically. The maple leaf became the central national symbol with the introduction of the Canadian flag (suggested by George F. G. Stanley and sponsored by John Matheson) in 1965, which uses a highly stylized eleven-pointed maple leaf, referring to no specific species of maple. Earlier official uses of a maple leaf design often used more than 30 points and a short stem. The one chosen is a generic maple leaf representing the ten species of maple tree native to Canada – at least one of these species grows natively in every province. The maple leaf is used on the Canadian flag and by the
Federal Government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
as a personification and identifier on its websites, as part of the government's wordmark. The maple leaf is also used in logos of various Canadian-based companies (including Canadian
subsidiaries A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a sa ...
of foreign companies and small local businesses) and the logos of Canadian sports teams. Examples include Air Canada, General Motors Canada, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Winnipeg Jets NHL franchises, the Toronto Blue Jays MLB franchise and the Toronto FC soccer club. Several national chains (e.g. McDonald's Canada, Wendy's Canada) use the maple leaf in place of a possessive apostrophe in their company logo, in order to have consistent branding across the country while complying with Quebec's ''Official Language Act'' (as the French language does not use this punctuation). The maple leaf is considered a certification mark on product labels in Canada, equivalent to " Product of Canada" which requires 98% of the total direct costs of the product to be incurred in Canada. Since 1979, the Royal Canadian Mint has produced gold, silver, platinum, and palladium
bullion Bullion is non-ferrous metal that has been refined to a high standard of elemental purity. The term is ordinarily applied to bulk metal used in the production of coins and especially to precious metals such as gold and silver. It comes from t ...
coins, which are officially known as
Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...
, as
geometric Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is ca ...
maple leaves are stamped on them. The
Trans Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway ( French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean on ...
uses a green maple leaf.


Other uses

The Italian city of
Campobasso Campobasso (, ; nap, label= Campobassan, Cambuàsce ) is a city and ''comune'' in southern Italy, the capital of the region of Molise and of the province of Campobasso. It is located in the high basin of the Biferno river, surrounded by Sann ...
was known as "Canada City" or in a minor way "Maple Leaf City", since during the Second World War, Canadian troops invaded the city and freed it from the Germans. Moreover, the city has a huge variety of maples which can be found even in the streets. The U.S. city of Carthage, Missouri, is nicknamed "America's Maple Leaf City." The city of Chehalis, Washington, was known as "The Maple-Leaf City". The mascot of Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana, is the Maple Leaf and the nickname for Goshen College sports teams is the Maple Leafs. It is usually taken as one of the featured symbols on the emblem of the Pakistani province of
Azad Jammu and Kashmir Azad Jammu and Kashmir (; ), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee: * * * and constituting the western portion of the larger Ka ...
, which is not correct. The actual featured symbol is a Chinar leaf, with ''Chinar'' being the Persian/Turkish/Urdu name for the Oriental Plane (''Platanus orientalis''), a large broad leaved deciduous tree. In Estonia and
Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
, inexperienced drivers are obliged to have a green maple leaf sign visible on the vehicle, serving a similar function that a
P-plate An L-plate is a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for ''learner'', which must be affixed to the front and/or back of a vehicle in many countries if its driver is a learner under instruction, or a motorcycle rider with provisional entit ...
does in some other countries. The maple leaf was also featured on the coat of arms of Sammatti, Finland.


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maple Leaf Leaf National symbols of Canada Leaves