<P> The first flag known to have flown in Canada was the St George 's Cross carried by John Cabot when he reached Newfoundland in 1497 . In 1534 , Jacques Cartier planted a cross in Gaspé bearing the French royal coat of arms with the fleurs - de-lis . His ship flew a red flag with a white cross , the French naval flag at the time . New France continued to fly the evolving French military flags of that period . As the de jure national flag of the United Kingdom , the Union Flag ( commonly known as the Union Jack and , by law , called the Royal Union Flag in Canada since 1964 ) was used similarly in Canada since the 1621 British settlement in Nova Scotia . Its use continued after Canada 's independence from the United Kingdom in 1931 until the adoption of the current flag in 1965 . </P>
<P> The first flag known to have flown in Canada was the St George 's Cross carried by John Cabot when he reached Newfoundland in 1497 . In 1534 , Jacques Cartier planted a cross in Gaspé bearing the French royal coat of arms with the fleurs - de-lis . His ship flew a red flag with a white cross , the French naval flag at the time . New France continued to fly the evolving French military flags of that period . As the de jure national flag of the United Kingdom , the Union Flag ( commonly known as the Union Jack and , by law , called the Royal Union Flag in Canada since 1964 ) was used similarly in Canada since the 1621 British settlement in Nova Scotia . Its use continued after Canada 's independence from the United Kingdom in 1931 until the adoption of the current flag in 1965 . </P>
when did canada stop flying the union jack
when did canada stop flying the union jack
1965
1965