Red Ensign is a term for flags used by
British colonies'
merchant marines[?]. It refers to a red flag with the
Union Jack in the canton and a shield or other device in the fly.
The term is often used in particular to refer to the
Canadian Red Ensign, the former de facto
national flag of
Canada. The official national flag was the Union Jack. The Red Ensign served until
1965 when it was replaced by today's
maple-leaf flag. The flag bore various forms of the shield from the
Canadian coat of arms in its fly during the period of its use. The picture shows the official form between 1957 and 1965
Two Canadian provincial flags are Red Ensigns, the flag of Ontario[?] and the flag of Manitoba[?].
See also White Ensign[?], Blue Ensign[?], and Yellow Ensign[?].
