Before the Flag: 10 Maple Leaf Items from Our Archives
The current Canadian flag cemented the maple leaf as the country's most recognizable symbol. But ties between Canada and the maple leaf long predate February 15, 1965, when the maple leaf flag officially became the national flag.
To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Canadian flag, we're highlighting rare historical items related to the maple leaf prior to 1965. These rarities span over a hundred years and are preserved in our scholarly Special Collections.
1. The Maple-leaf literary publication (1847 to 1849)
The Maple-leaf, or, Canadian Annual, a Literary Souvenir was a yearly periodical published in Toronto. It not only showcases a maple leaf on its cover, it also references the maple leaf as “the chosen emblem for Canada." This publication is among 24,000 books, pamphlets and periodicals from before 1900 held in our Baldwin Collection of Canadiana.
2. Fabric maple leaf badge (1860)
This badge adorned a small number of troops who were born in Canada and were part of the Prince of Wales’s procession to Toronto in 1860 — possibly the first time maple leaves were worn as a national symbol of Canada. The 22 troops in attendance either wore this badge pinned to their uniforms or put natural maple leaves in their buttonholes.
3. First edition of The Maple Leaf Forever sheet music (1868)
Only 1,000 first editions of the sheet music for The Maple Leaf Forever were printed — and we’re privileged to have one of them. This popular patriotic song was written by Torontonian Alexander Muir for Canada's Confederation in 1867. It’s one of 15,000 pieces of sheet music that we preserve as part of our Special Collections in the Arts.
4. Pin for returning soldiers of the Boer War (1900)
TPL board members wore this to welcome home soldiers to Toronto who fought in the controversial Boer War, Canada’s first foreign war. The medal on top is a version of the badge found on the hats of Canadians in this war. (Toronto city councillors wore almost identical pins.) This item is one of 1,000+ digitized items from our archive of TPL's own history.
5. Photo of the Maple Leaf soccer team (1902)
This was one of multiple sports teams that used maple leaf in its name before it was adopted by the NHL hockey team we know today. The Maple Leaf Football Team played in the Village of Ellesmere, which was part of the Township of Scarborough. They won'the Ontario Championships in 1890, and this portrait commemorated their victory in the East York League in 1902.
6. Land of the Maple postcard series (1905 to 1917)
Published in Toronto, this series framed Canadian landmarks with a maple leaf border. In a 1907 ad, publisher A. H. Cooper described his work as "the best ever produced in Canada and they clearly proved the fallacy of foreign importations." Out of 122 in the series, we preserve 30. (Thanks to Toronto Postcard Club for information about this series.)
7. "Greetings from Toronto" leather postcard (approximately 1905)
The many maple leaves on this postcard were created by a technique called pyrography, which used heat to burn designs onto different materials. Leather postcards were a fad during the postcard boom in the early 1900s. In 1910, Canada banned the postcards because of damage to the postal service’s sorting machines. See other leather postcards on our Digital Archive.
8. Flag designs submitted by Toronto Star readers (1945)
After the Canadian government announced it was considering a new flag, readers of the Toronto Star sent in designs that were shared in the paper. Many featured a maple leaf. We've digitized 16 designs, which are part of our archive of a million images from the Toronto Star across the 20th century.
9. "This is our Canadian flag" pamphlet (approximately 1963)
Before Canada's current flag was official, groups like the Canadian Patriotic Association advocated to keep The Red Ensign, with its much smaller emphasis on the maple leaf. Below is one of their flyers from our Baldwin Collection of Canadiana. It's one of 28,000 pieces of ephemera (i.e., items made for a specific purpose and then often discarded).
10. “Canada’s Own Flag” commemorative coin (1964)
Look closely and you'll spot the date when the new Canadian flag was officially approved: December 15, 1964. The vote in the House of Commons, following the Great Flag Debate, passed with 163 to 78 votes. Two months later, Canada raised its new national flag — with the maple leaf front and centre. In 1996, the government declared February 15 as Flag Day.
5 thoughts on “Before the Flag: 10 Maple Leaf Items from Our Archives”
Hi, I am a Mom in Toronto of two sons.
Today is Terry Fox’s plan for the 45th see the dream to the end.
I’d be happy to design a stamp with Terry fox and the Canadian Leaf altogether
on 1 stamp.
I am an artist, and a designer, and Human Resource Teacher.
Wonderful! Shared wide and far. Thank you very much for this.
You apply directly to Canada Post to be a stamp creator. Here’s the information link https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/support/kb/sending/stamps-packaging/suggest-a-stamp-subject-or-apply-to-design-a-stamp.page
Thank you for reading (and sharing!), Vineca. All of these items ultimately belong to the people of Toronto 🙂
Do folks know we have a federal rule that says our national flag must be removed from its position of honour for the flags of 30 individual people–British royals and their viceroys? This bumps the Maple Leaf to an inferior place, or takes it down altogether.
It’s a rule that needs changing. Check out this petition seeking to ‘Put the Canadian flag first’ at all times in its own country: https://www.change.org/CdnFlagFirst