Maple Leaf

Click HERE or on photo to enlarge

The maple leaf is the characteristic leaf of the maple tree, and is the most widely recognized national symbol of Canada. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, the settlements of New France had attained a population of about 18,000. Also by this time, the maple leaf had been adopted as an emblem by the French Canadians along the Saint Lawrence River. Its popularity with French Canadians continued and was reinforced when, at the inaugural meeting of the Societe Saint-Jean-Baptiste in 1834, the maple leaf was one of numerous emblems proposed to represent the society. Speaking in its favour, Jacques Viger, the first mayor of Montreal, described the maple as the king of our forest, the symbol of the Canadian people.