heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known bran ...

and

vexillology Vexillology ( ) is the study of the history, symbolism and usage of flags or, by extension, any interest in flags in general.Smith, Whitney. ''Flags Through the Ages and Across the World'' New York: McGraw-Hill, 1975. Print. The word is a synthe ...

, a Canadian pale is a centre band of a vertical triband flag (a pale in heraldry) that covers half the length of a

flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

, rather than a third as in most triband designs. This allows more space to display a central image ( common charge). The name was suggested by Sir

Conrad Swan Sir Conrad Marshall John Fisher Swan (13 May 1924–10 January 2019) was a long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. Having been first appointed to work at the College in 1962, he rose to the office of Garter Principal Kin ...

Rouge Dragon Pursuivant Rouge Dragon Pursuivant of Arms in Ordinary is a junior officer of arms of the College of Arms, named after the red dragon of Wales. The current Rouge Dragon Pursuivant is Adam Tuck, who was appointed on 12 June 2019. The office had been vac ...

(a heraldic office in Britain), and first used by Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states durin ...

Queen of Canada The monarchy of Canada is Canada's form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is at the core of Canada's constitutional Canadian federalism, federal structure and Westminster system, Westminster-style Parliamentar ...

proclaiming the new Canadian flag on 28 January 1965. Properly, the term should only apply to Canadian flags, though in general use the term is also used to describe non-Canadian flags that have similar proportions. The classic Canadian pale is a square central panel occupying half of a flag with 1:2 proportions. However, vexillological usage applies it to any central band that is half the width of the flag, even if this renders it non-square. The term Canadian pale is also used for flags which do not originate in Canada. The 3:5

proposed flag of Taiwan Several proposals for a flag of Taiwan have been initiated by supporters of formal Taiwan independence movement, Taiwan independence to replace the flag of the Republic of China as the national flag flown over Taiwan. Supporters of Taiwan independ ...

and the 7:11 flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines are both described as having a Canadian pale. The Canadian pale is a popular feature of sub-national and municipal flags from Canada developed after 1965. A few examples can be found in the flag of the Northwest Territories and the

flag of Yukon A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employ ...

, and of the cities of

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anch ...

;

Cornwall, Ontario Cornwall is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, situated where the provinces of Ontario and Quebec and the state of New York converge. It is the seat of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry and is Ontario's easternmost city ...

;

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of ...

; and

Burlington, Ontario Burlington is a city in the Regional Municipality of Halton at the northwestern end of Lake Ontario in Ontario, Canada. Along with Milton to the north, it forms the western end of the Greater Toronto Area and is also part of the Hamilton m ...

. The term is sometimes used in an even looser sense to refer to any flag with a larger central panel, irrespective of whether or not it covers half the flag. By this looser description, the

flag of Norfolk Island The flag of Norfolk Island is a triband consisting of green, white, and green bands charged with a green Norfolk Island pine in the centre. Adopted in 1979 when the islands gained limited self-government, it has been the flag of the Territory ...

(stripes in a ratio of 7:9:7) and the

flag of Iowa The flag of the state of Iowa is a vertical tricolor flag designed by Mrs. Dixie Cornell Gebhardt in 1917. Iowa legislators officially adopted the flag in 1921. History The State of Iowa did not have a banner for the first 75 years of its co ...

(ratio legally undefined, but usually the central stripe is less than twice that of the outer stripes) are sometimes considered to have a Canadian pale. By analogy, any flag which has a central ''horizontal'' stripe that is half the height of the flag is sometimes said to have a Spanish fess.

Heraldry

In coats of arms, and

in general, a 'Canadian pale' is what might well be referred to in South African heraldry as a 'broad pale' as its width is half that of the shield on which it is shown as opposed to the ordinary pale's third to a quarter. They are most commonly used in Canadian heraldry.

Flag gallery

Flag of the Northwest Territories.svg, Flag of the Northwest Territories, Canada Flag of Yukon.svg, Flag of Yukon, Canada Flag of Amherstburg, Canada.svg, Flag of Amherstburg, Ontario Flag of Cornwall, Ontario (granted).svg, Granted Flag of Cornwall, Ontario, Canada Flag of Hamilton.svg,

Flag of Hamilton, Ontario The flag of Hamilton was designed by Bishop Ralph Spence (bishop), Ralph Spence and granted to the city on July 15, 2003. The flag was specially designed to complement the Canadian flag being a Triband (flag), triband with a Canadian pale at c ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

Matimekush Lac John Band %28Innu-Montagnais_Nation%29%2C_Quebec.gif, Flag of the

Innu The Innu / Ilnu ("man", "person") or Innut / Innuat / Ilnuatsh ("people"), formerly called Montagnais from the French colonial period ( French for "mountain people", English pronunciation: ), are the Indigenous inhabitants of territory in the ...

(Matimekush Lac John Band),

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

, Canada Flag of Grise Fiord, Nunavut.svg, Flag of Grise Fiord,

Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the '' Nunavut Act'' and the '' Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act'' ...

, Canada Musqueam flag.svg, Flag of the Musqueam people File:Flag of Bohol Province, Philippines.svg, Flag of Bohol, Philippines File:Flag of Iowa.svg, Flag of Iowa, United States File:Flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.svg, Flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines File:Flag of La Gomera.svg, Flag of the island of

La Gomera La Gomera () is one of Spain's Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. With an area of , it is the third smallest of the eight main islands of this archipelago. It belongs to the province of Santa Cruz de Tene ...

(

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, :es:Canarias, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

) File:Flag of Myrhorod.svg, Flag of

Myrhorod Myrhorod ( uk, Ми́ргород, ) is a city in the Poltava Oblast ( province) of central Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Myrhorod Raion (district), the city itself is administratively incorporated as a city of obla ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

File:Flag of Putrajaya.svg, Flag of

Putrajaya Putrajaya (), officially the Federal Territory of Putrajaya ( ms, Wilayah Persekutuan Putrajaya), is a planned capital city which functions as the administrative capital and the judicial capital of Malaysia. The seat of the federal governm ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

File:Flag of Taiwan proposed 1996.svg, Proposed 1996 Liu flag of Taiwan File:Keski-Pohjanmaa.lippu.svg, Flag of

Central Ostrobothnia Central Ostrobothnia ( fi, Keski-Pohjanmaa; sv, Mellersta Österbotten) is a region in Finland. It borders the regions of Ostrobothnia, North Ostrobothnia, Central Finland and South Ostrobothnia. Historical provinces Municipalities ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

File:Flag of Mississippi.svg, Flag of Mississippi,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

File:POL powiat malborski flag.svg, Flag of

Malbork County __NOTOC__ Malbork County ( pl, powiat malborski) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Pomeranian Voivodeship, northern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government r ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

File:Flag of Columbus, Ohio.svg, Flag of

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, an ...

File:POL województwo podkarpackie flag.svg, Flag of

Subcarpathian Voivodeship Subcarpathian Voivodeship or Subcarpathia Province (in pl, Województwo podkarpackie ) is a voivodeship, or province, in the southeastern corner of Poland. Its administrative capital and largest city is Rzeszów. Along with the Marshall, it i ...

File:Ash Nallawalla's Proposal (1998 Australian Flag Proposal).svg, Ash Nallawalla's 1998 Australian flag proposal File:Ropažu novada karogs.svg, alt=, Flag of

Ropaži Municipality Ropaži Municipality ( lv, Ropažu novads) is a municipality in Vidzeme, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2005 with the reorganization of Ropaži parish. The administrative centre is Ropaži. The population in 2020 was 6,835. On 1 July 202 ...

, Latvia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Canadian Pale * Flags of Canada Heraldic ordinaries Flags by design