Red Ensign

noun

1. the ensign of the British Merchant Navy, having the Union Jack on a red background at the upper corner of the vertical edge alongside the hoist Compare White Ensign Blue Ensign

Example Sentences

In 2017, five members of the Canadian Armed Forces were among a group of Proud Boys who carried the Red Ensign flag while confronting Indigenous protesters in Halifax on Canada Day.

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Canada adopted its maple leaf flag in 1965, the final chapter in a long and extremely contentious debate over whether to abandon the Canadian Red Ensign, the former flag with a Union Jack in the top left corner and a coat of arms on the bottom right.

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Far-right groups — including the Proud Boys, which was co-founded by a Canadian, Gavin McInnes — have latched onto the Red Ensign in veneration of white settler history.

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But neither the old Red Ensign flag nor the current maple leaf one has ever turned much of the country into flag fanatics.

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At protests, Canadians members of the Proud Boys often carry the red ensign, a flag containing the Union Jack in one corner that was Canada’s official banner until it adopted its maple leaf flag in 1965.

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