It features a green field with three gold maple leaves and above it, a white band with a red St. George's cross.

It was flown at all military installations in Canada and overseas, embassies and consulates, outside the legislature and government buildings, at Royal Canadian Legion halls, and many private homes.

A Gallup poll of April 1963 indicated that a majority of Canadians outside of Quebec preferred to retain either the Union Jack or the Red Ensign as the national flag.

[4] Many felt, however, that changing the national flag was a worthwhile concession towards bringing Quebec more closely into Confederation.

[6] The idea was supported by Leslie Frost, former premier of Ontario, and Richard Rohmer, the advisor of then-Premier John Robarts.

[7] It was originally intended to place the full Ontario Coat of Arms on the flag, but this was later reduced to only the shield.

[9] Robarts felt it was an important symbol that reflected Ontario's heritage and the sacrifices made under it by Canadian troops.

On May 13, 2015, the Liberal MPP from Etobicoke Centre Yvan Baker put forward the Ontario Flag Day Act, 2015.

"[20] It was emblematic of the origin of Ontario's most successful institutions of British inheritance: parliamentary democracy, law and freedom.

The editorial argued, using the flags of Fiji or Tuvalu as an example, that the Union Jack is not exclusive to any ethnic group and represents Ontarians of all backgrounds.

It further suggested that the Union Jack could also symbolise the attaining of freedom for an estimated 30-40,000 escaped slaves reaching British North America on the Underground Railroad.