2 The Maple Leaf Forever 1868

Anyone who has seen a Canadian travelling knows what the national symbol of Canada is. Canadians love to wear the maple leaf on their clothes, backpacks, and hats. There is even material called The Maple Leaf Tartan. People use this fabric to make clothes. Canadians wear the maple leaf tartan to show that they are proud of their country.

The maple leaf has always been important in Canada.The First Nations(see 1999) ate the sugar from the maple tree. For years and years, French Canadians used the maple leaf to represent them. The army also used it as a symbol of Canada. People who work in forestry use it too. In 1996, the maple tree was made a symbol of Canada.

At the time that Canada became a country, a song was written by Alexander Muir. The song was called the Maple Leaf Forever. It became the song that represented the birth of Canada. Alexander's song tells about the history of Canada. The Queen of England was still the head of Canada then. The chorus is the part of a song that is repeated again and again. The chorus in Alexander's song is this: The maple leaf, our emblem(symbol)dear,the maple leaf forever.God save our Queen and heaven bless, the maple leaf forever.

The maple leaf became more popular with Canadians in 1868 when it was put on the flags of Ontario and Quebec. It started to become a national symbol after that year. Later, it was put on all Canadian money coins.

In 1965, the maple leaf became the symbol of Canada for all the world. That year it was placed in the centre of the new Canadian flag. Since that time, the maple leaf has almost always been red when it is used to represent Canada. Red is the colour the maple leaf turns in autumn.

The colour red is also used to represent Canada and so is white. Those two colours were made the national colours of Canada in 1921. Red represents England and white represents France. That is why the Canadian flag is red and white. Red and white are also the colours that Canadian judges wear in the Supreme Court. The Mounties (see 1873) also wear red uniforms. In Canada, the colour red seems to represent honesty and pride.

There are other national symbols that Canadians like to use. The beaver is one of the oldest symbols of Canada.The beaver was put on the very first Canadian stamp ever used for posting letters. Beavers are known for their hard work and their skill. They are known to keep working even when that work is difficult. Canadians think the beaver represents them very well because of this.

When Europeans began to trade in Canada, they were most interested in beaver fur. It was popular to wear fur hats in Europe. Europeans especially loved beaver fur. People would pay as much as 20 times more for this fur than another fur. Almost 100,000 beaver skins were sent to Europe each year. Nearly all the beavers in Canada were killed. Beavers were in danger of becoming extinct. Luckily, Europeans began wearing silk hats. No one wanted beaver fur any longer. The beavers did not all die out.

Europeans bought beaver hats for many years, though. The Hudson's Bay Company (see 1881)became rich through the trade of beaver skins,called pelts.First Nations would bring beaver pelts to Hudson's Bay. They would trade them for food, guns, and other things they needed. The beaver was very important to the growth of the Hudson's Bay Company. The company used the beaver as one of their symbols.

Today the beaver is honoured in Canada. It was made a national symbol of Canada in 1975. It can be seen on the back of the five cent money coin. Some Canadians do not like the beaver representing them. They do not think the beaver is a strong enough symbol. Perhaps they like the Canadian horse better which became a national symbol in 2002.

First Nations were the first Canadians to see horses. At that time, Canada was joined to Russia by land. These horses left Canada. They walked all the way to China on this land bridge. Then the land bridge went away. These horses could not walk back. There were no more horses anywhere in Canada.

Horses returned to Canada when 30 of them were sent from France in 1665. The king of France sent the horses to help the French settlers with their farm work. Horses were used to make fields to grow food. They were used to help clear trees to make roads. Horses carried people and heavy things. They took children to school. They were also used for horse racing. It was a popular sport in early Canada.

During the next 100 years, the numbers of horses grew in Canada. There were no other horses for these French ones to mix with. They became different to all other types of horses in the world. They became the Canadian horse.

Many people think the Canadian horse is a perfect symbol for Canada. These horses are smaller than others, but still strong. They are smart and they are peaceful. They can work hard. They do not take long to get their energy back once they are tired. Canadian horses have a long life.

Canada has many symbols that are used to represent the country. Each province has their own flower, bird, animal, tree, stone and words. Even so, the symbol that people all over the world know as the most popular one of Canada is the red maple leaf.