Red Ensign

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[?].