In vexillology

Vexillology

Vexillology is the scholarly study of flags. The word is a synthesis of the Latin word vexillum, meaning 'flag', and the Greek suffix -logy, meaning 'study'. The vexillum was a particular type of flag used by Roman legions during the classical era; its name is a diminutive form of the word velum...

 a Canadian pale is a centre band of a vertical triband flag

Flag

A flag is a piece of fabric with a distinctive design that is usually rectangular and used as a symbol, as a signaling device, or decoration. The term flag is also used to refer to the graphic design employed by a flag, or to its depiction in another medium.The first flags were used to assist...

 (a pale

Pale (heraldry)

A pale is a term used in heraldic blazon and vexillology to describe a charge on a coat of arms , that takes the form of a band running vertically down the center of the shield. Writers broadly agree that the width of the pale ranges from about one-fifth to about one-third of the width of the...

 in heraldry) that covers half the length of a flag, rather than a third in most triband designs. This allows more space to display a central image (common charge

Charge (heraldry)

In heraldry, a charge is any emblem or device occupying the field of an escutcheon . This may be a geometric design or a symbolic representation of a person, animal, plant, object or other device...

). The name was suggested by Dr. George Stanley

George Stanley

Colonel George Francis Gillman Stanley, OC, CD, KStJ, DPhil, FRSC, FRHistS, FRHSC was a historian, author, soldier, teacher, public servant, and designer of the current Canadian flag.-Career:...

, and first used by Elizabeth II of Canada proclaiming the new Canadian flag

Flag of Canada

The national flag of Canada, also known as the Maple Leaf, and , is a red flag with a white square in its centre, featuring a stylized 11-pointed red maple leaf. Its adoption in 1965 marked the first time a national flag had been officially adopted in Canada to replace the Union Flag...

 on 28 January 1965. Properly, the term should only apply to Canadian flags, though in general use the term is also used to describe non-Canadian flags that have similar proportions.

The classic Canadian pale is a square central panel occupying half of a flag with 1:2 proportions. However, vexillological usage applies it to any central band that is half the width of the flag, even if this renders it non-square. Though technically incorrect, the term Canadian pale is also used for flags which do not originate in Canada. The 3:5 proposed flag of Taiwan

Proposed flag of Taiwan

Several proposals for a flag of Taiwan have been initiated by supporters of Taiwan independence to replace the flag of the Republic of China as the national flag flown over Taiwan. Supporters of Taiwan independence object to the use of the flag of the Republic of China since it was designed by and...

 and the 7:11 flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

The flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was adopted on October 21, 1985. It is composed of three vertical bands of blue, yellow and green with three diamonds centered in the yellow band and arranged in a V which stands for Vincent. These diamonds recall Saint Vincent as the "gems of the...

 are both described as having a Canadian pale.

The Canadian pale is a popular feature of sub-national and municipal flags from Canada developed after 1965. A few examples can be found in the flag of the Northwest Territories

Northwest Territories

The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...

, and the cities of Edmonton, Alberta; Cornwall, Ontario

Cornwall, Ontario

Cornwall is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada and the seat of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, Ontario. Cornwall is Ontario's easternmost city, located on the St...

 and Burlington, Ontario

Burlington, Ontario

Burlington , is a city located in Halton Region at the western end of Lake Ontario. Burlington is part of the Greater Toronto Area, and is also included in the Hamilton Census Metropolitan Area. Physically, Burlington lies between the north shore of Lake Ontario and the Niagara Escarpment...

.
The term is sometimes used in an even looser sense to refer to any flag with a larger central panel, irrespective of whether or not it covers half the flag. By this looser description, the flag of Norfolk Island

Flag of Norfolk Island

The flag of Norfolk Island was adopted on 17 January 1980. It depicts the Norfolk Island Pine in a central white stipe....

 (stripes in a ratio of 7:9:7) and the flag of Iowa

Flag of Iowa

The flag of the state of Iowa consists of three vertical stripes of blue, white, and red, reflecting Iowa's history as part of the French Louisiana Territory...

 (ratio legally undefined, but usually the central stripe is less than twice that of the outer stripes) are sometimes considered to have a Canadian pale.

By analogy, any flag which has a central horizontal stripe that is half the height of the flag is sometimes said to have a Spanish fess

Spanish fess

In vexillology, a Spanish fess is a term occasionally used to describe the central horizontal stripe of a tricolour or triband flag that is twice the width of the stripes on either side of it....

.

Heraldry

In coats of arms, and heraldry

Heraldry

Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...

in general, a 'Canadian pale' is what might well be referred to in South African heraldry as a 'broad pale' as it width is half that of the shield on which it is shown as opposed to the ordinary pale's third to a quarter. For an example see the coat of Macdonald, Canada.