Unification of the Canadian Army, Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Canadian Air Force in 1969 is controversial to this day. The Air Force has restored the word “Royal” to its name, and has reverted to a pre-unification flag. The flag is identical to that of Britain’s Royal Air Force, but for the red maple leaf replacing the central dot in the fly’s concentric tricolour logo.

The Canadian Forces Ensign is flown at all military establishments in Canada, and in miniature as the emblem of the Chief of Dense Staff. It is white, with the Maple Leaf flag in the canton and the Canadian Forces badge in the fly.

The Canadian Forces Air Command ensign replaces the RCAF flag’s Union Jack in the canton with the Maple Leaf flag, and the leaf in the logo is stylized, unlike the RCAF’s naturalistic leaf.

The Blue Ensign served as the jack of Canada’s navy from 1911 to 1965, when it was replaced by the Maple Leaf flag, as the Red Ensign had been. Also like the Red Ensign, the composite coat-of-arms on the fly evolved as more provinces were added, and was replaced by the Canada Coat-of-Arms in 1922.

The Red Ensign went through a number of variations on its journey from jack of the British Merchant Navy to emblem of Canada until the introduction of the Maple Leaf flag in 1965. The first version bore a composite coats-of-arms of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia; with new provinces added as they joined Confederation. The composite was replaced by the Canada Coat of Arms in 1922. The original composite is also referred to as the Vimy Ridge flag; it flew in Canada’s World War I birth-of-a-nation battle.

The historic White Ensign (not to be confused with today’s Canadian Naval Ensign) consists of a white field with a red St. George’s cross and a Union Jack in the canton, and was flown by Canadian naval ships as ensign (stern or amidship flag) to the blue ensign’s jack (bow flag) from 1911 to 1965. While some some Commonwealth countries altered the ensign, adding country badges, removing the cross or replacing the Union Jack with a national flag in the canton, Canadian ships retained the original design..

Canada is one of the original 45 members of the United Nations, whose flag is flown by UN peacekeeping missions as a protective measure during active conflicts. It may also be flown as a garrison flag. There is no specified blue for the field of the flag; the original was of a greyer hue than that typically flown today. The global projection has been altered from the original, which overemphasized the profile of Western countries.

The dark blue flag of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, bearing a white compass rose, was chosen in 1953 to replace NATO’s original flag, which bore the badge of the Supreme Headquarters of Allied Powers Europe, to differentiate the treaty organization from the military headquarters.

Saluti Primum, Auxilio Semper— "Safety First, Service Always." The Canadian Coast Guard was formed in 1962. The unarmed force has no military or law enforcement authority, but often serves in support roles to the Navy and police. The heraldic device issued in 1962 is reflected in the service’s bowjack—blue for water, white for ice, with two dolphins on the fly as “friends of mariners.”

Introduced in 2016, the new design of the post-unification Canadian Army features the Canadian flag and a white, stylized maple leaf on a red field. The leaf bear the badge worn by Canadian soldiers in the Second World War and the Korean conflict—three maple leaves over a pair of crossed swords, with a crown above. The maple leaf honours the soldiers who wore it on their collars at the Battle of Vimy Ridge in 1917.

The Canadian Naval Ensign—a white field with Canadian Flag in the canton and an emblem of an anchor, eagle and crown in blue on the fly—replaced the Maple Leaf flag as the jack (bow flag) of the Maritime Command of the Canadian Armed Forces, as it was known, during the unification era (1968-2013). When it became the Royal Canadian Navy in 2013, it became the ensign (flown astern), with the Maple Leaf returning to the bow. It is sometimes referred to as the White Ensign, of which it is a modern variation.

Canada’s Military Police performs not only a support role to the Canadian military, but has served front-line roles with the United Nations in countries around the globe. The force’s flag bears a red panel defaced with the military police cap badge—a totem within in a gold frame of maple leafs and a crown.

Always on duty, Canada’s volunteer military reserve presence in the remote north is charged with surveillance and sovereignty patrols, inspection of early warning facilities, and scouting and survival training for conventional forces in the north. Its flag bears the Rangers badge—a crossed rifle and axe with three maple leaves—on a green and red field.

The cadet corps of the Canadian Rangers was created in 1996 and is open to 12- to 18-year-olds. Its flag reverses the field elements of the Rangers flag, with the green portion of the field to the fly, and omits the rifle and axe from the shield.

During the unification of the Canadian Forces in 1968, the army’s transport and supply elements merged with the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps—and later, the Administration Branch—to form the Logistics Branch. It was granted royal designation by Queen Elizabeth II on its 50th anniversary in October 2018. The Royal Canadian Logistics Service badge dominates the central red panel of the flag, which is flanked by navy and sky blue panels.

Charged with providing information for decision-making by senior officers on the ground, in battle or in the face of natural disaster, the Intelligence Branch has a badge that honours its history. The scarlet, dark green and white represent the Canadian Corps of Guides, the Canadian Intelligence Corps, and the Canadian Forces Security Branch. A compass rose and north star surmount the colour fields.

In its various incarnations since the Boer War, the Canadian Military Engineers have been to Vimy Ridge to tunnel under and mine enemy positions, to Afghanistan to clear roads and minefields, and to the north to work on the Alaska Highway, earning their badge motto: Ubique (Everywhere). The flag is a series of alternating brick red and royal blue panels.