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1 Canada

thumb Canadian Red Ensign

The term is often used in particular to refer to the Canadian Red Ensign, the former de facto national flag of Canada. From 1892 it was the official flag for use on Canadian merchant ships, but on land the official national flag was the Union Jack. Despite its lack of official status the Red Ensign was widely used on land as well. In 1924 it was approved for use on Canadian government buildings outside Canada, and in 1945 for those inside Canada as well. 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 OntarioThe current Flag of Ontario was proclaimed the official flag of the Canadian province of Ontario by the Flag Act on May 21, 1965. The flag is a defaced Red Ensign, with the Union Flag in the upper left hand corner and the Ontario shield of arms in the fly and the flag of ManitobaThe Flag of Manitoba is a variation of the Red Ensign which bears the shield of the provincial coat of arms. This flag was given royal approval by Queen Elizabeth II in October 1965, and officially proclaimed on 12 May 1966. External link: winner of the W, both of which were introduced when the Canadian Red Ensign was replaced by the Maple Leaf Flag.

In recent years many far-rightThe term far-right refers to the relative position a group or person occupies within a political spectrum. The terms "far-right" and " far-left" are used to say that someone is an extremist, not in tune with the majority. A common slur against the far-rig and neo-Nazi groups in Canada, particularly those affiliated to Paul Fromm, have adopted the Canadian Red Ensign as a symbol of their movement meant to emphasise what they assert is their adherence to traditional Canadian values.

2 South Africa

Red Ensign of the Union of South Africa as it appeared from 1910 to 1912.

The Union of South Africa used a Red Ensign as its de facto national flag from 1910 until 1928, with the shield of its coat of arms in the fly. There was also a Blue Ensign which was mostly used on overseas offices.

Both ensigns were changed slightly in 1912 when the shield of the coat of arms was placed on a white roundel. The most notable usage of the flag was when General Louis Botha flew the flag over Windhoek in what was then German South West Africa after the town's capture by South African troops in 1915.

Neither the red nor blue ensign enjoyed public support, particularly not from the Afrikaans speaking portion of the white population.