The Canada national tree is the maple. You see the maple leaf on the country's flag, on its coins, and on sports jerseys. The maple genus (Acer) became an official emblem of Canada in 1996. But the bond between this tree and the nation goes back much further than that.
I noticed the Canadian maple leaf symbol right away the first time I crossed the border. It sat on the flag at customs. It was stamped on the coins I got back at a gas station. You see it on hockey jerseys and passport covers too. It shows up on signs in every national park you visit. No other country ties itself to a single leaf as tightly as Canada does.
The flag you know today was adopted in 1965 after years of debate. The red maple leaf on white became the face of the nation. The Maple Leaf Tartan became a national symbol too. Then in 1996 the government named the maple tree as the official emblem. That put the maple next to the beaver as one of Canada's top symbols in law.
About 10 native maple species make up the maple tree Canada connection. But the sugar maple stands out from all the rest. It powers a syrup industry in Quebec and Ontario worth hundreds of millions of dollars each year. No other maple species in Canada comes close to that kind of value for the people who tap them each spring.
Quebec alone made about 12 million gallons of maple syrup in 2019. That made Canada the world's top producer by a wide gap. Your bottle of maple syrup from Quebec carries the same tree on its label that flies on the flag in Ottawa. The syrup trade ties the national tree emblem to a real export that you can buy in stores across the globe today.
In my experience, the link between Canada and the maple runs deeper than most national symbols out there. You grow up with the leaf on your flag from day one if you are Canadian. You tap maple trees in spring as a family custom in many rural towns. You watch the fall colors change every October across the country. The maple touches your daily life in a way that goes well beyond just a picture on a flag.
If you visit Canada during tapping season in late winter, you can see this bond up close. Families gather at sugar shacks to eat pancakes with fresh syrup. They celebrate the start of spring together around the maple tree. You won't find another national tree that plays such a hands-on role in the lives of the people who chose it. The maple earns its place as Canada's emblem every single year when the sap starts to flow and the buckets go up on the trunks.
Read the full article: Sugar Maple Tree: Complete Growing Guide
