As someone living in the Yukon I would like to point out that the slightly off dimensions of the Yukon flag is the most Yukon thing possible. That should have been an extra point for an inside joke
As a Canadian who can't really drop extra money on RUclips memberships, it's really nice to get this as a Christmas gift. Merry Christmas Grey, thanks for an amazing gift
As a Newfie, not only am I always going to see our flag as a space-age banner forevermore, I also love that we manage to fit between ranks...just like we do timezones!
I know I am biased... as a Canadian... but the Canadian flag really is a masterpiece in flag design. Simple. Iconic. Unique. Stands out. Clear Message. And all while still looking really nice.
5:53 As someone from British Columbia, I can not believe you put it so high with how busy this flag is. Though perhaps my dislike of it comes from being made to draw it in social studies classes in school which unexpectedly was pure torture.
As someone from Prince Edward Island, I was a little bit upset with the grade he gave us, but I understand why after thinking about it. And I appreciated the apology (and laughed) he gave us for being too harsh in the end!!!
The Inukshuk on the Nunavut flag is even better when you consider the fact that Nunavut means "Our land" in Inuktitut. So the Inukshuk helps guide the people back to their home! The red on the Inukshuk represents Canada as a whole. And blue and gold were chosen to represent the riches of land, sea, and sky. Over 800 submissions were received for the Nunavut flag, and these submissions were reviewed and winnowed by a committee made up of artists and local elders who chose ten finalists. From the symbols and colors of these ten finalists, five draft designs of the flag were developed. They were assisted in drafting these by local Inuit artist Andrew Qappik. Andrew Qappik also helped create Nunavut's coat of arms. Again, blue and gold symbolizes the riches of the land. In chief is a representation of both the midnight sun and the North Star. And to the left of the Inukshuk is a qulliq, a stone lamp representing the warmth of home and community. The caribou and narwhal represent sustenance and natural resources of the land and sea. They stand on a compartment with Arctic poppies, dwarf fireweed, and Arctic heather, alongside an iceberg. At the bottom it says "Our Land, Our Strength".
I love it when Grey finds a flag that is precisely the right mix of "charming" and "absolute disaster" that he's able to just appreciate the madness of it.
I think we (BC) should go back to an earlier draft of our flag, where the setting sun was above the Union Jack. Just stick it to them now. To quote a king possessed by a wizard: “(the British) have no power here”
As someone from Vancouver, BC holding an umbrella made me laugh out loud. And even as a Canadian flag nerd, I get Ontario and Manitoba mixed up all the time 😂
Alberta was actually settled in large part by Americans, a mix of Americans and central Europeans. Alberta is also where the Social Gospel got its footing in Canada and led directly to the NDP
I never would have thought of the newfoundland flag as being like a galactic banner for a spacefaring empire. I always thought of it as being the fisherman's union jack. Thanks for bringing forth a new light!
“Trying to track down where it really came from was a mess that went nowhere…” Why, that sounds like the perfect subject for the next 20-minute “someone dead ruined my life” video!
The reason why Ontario and Manitoba's ensign flags were only made "official" after the maple leaf was adopted was because the powers at be in the two provinces believed that the mid-20th century Canadian trend of flag redesigns were slighting the monarchy and their British history, which was very important to English-speaking Canada at the time. So the two provinces passed legislation stating that they were not going to replace their ensigns. Ontario choosing this route makes sense, as they were a very conservative English-speaking province at the time, but Manitoba is a bit interesting since there is a large French population in the province that presumably had no love for the British monarchs. I guess the English majority held the balance of power so that's all that mattered.
Ontario was part of the initial french colonies, so it has a french speaking population too. As for why that didn't do much in either province, there were a bunch of assimilation policies against the use of french, so it's not like they had much influence. There was also the deportation of Acadians in what's now the maritimes. Manitoba also has the added layer that a significant portion of the french speaking population was métis, who were also discriminated against for their indigenous ancestry.
Joke is, both province always were super French speaking, more than most. It’s because they had such large French minorities that they were so pro British.
@@andrewweitzman4006 As an Albertan who was born in Saskatchewan, I Envy the timeless classic that is the flag of Quebec, with its tasteful two tone simplicity, drawing on distinct heritage, and easily being the best provincial flag in Canada.
This is the greatest Christmas gift as a Canadian. Thanks Grey! Also Quebec deserves that S tier and then some. Beautiful flag for a beautiful province. Love from Saskatchewan❤
As a Newfoundlander who tried to find the origin of the tricolour, I know the pain! Pre confederation history here can be rather messy sometimes, it could probably make an interesting video
I was bummed by his low grade for the current Newfoundland provincial flag. It's my personal favorite, er, favourite. (It's also the province with my favourite people.)
Tbf, I really like Nova Scotia's flag, albeit I am Scottish. But it's quite a smart way to incorporate both the Saltire and the Lion Rampant flags, both of which are still popularly used in Scotland, without just copying the Scottish Saltire completely. Genuinely just a neat flag that doesn't do anything wrong. Even the Lion Rampant's inclusion seems to have been done tastefully, kind of reminding me of how Portugal incorporated it's cost of arms.
Dear Grey, Please make a tier list of all the national flags of the world. I truly cannot get enough flag rankings. Sincerely, Your most loyal Bonnie Bee 🐝🖤
I don't think it's going to happen because you would have to choose which country to include and that would be a political nightmare. For example: do you include Taiwan as an independent country?
OMG Grey, this video has me excited for 3 reasons: 1) I LOVE how you have The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings on the shelf behind your head. That's an S Tier super-sneaky easter egg! 2) I'm Canadian (bonus thanks for giving British Columbia an A) 3) It's 2 days until Christmas, so thank you for this video gift Merry Christmas Grey & Happy New Year! Thanks for entertaining me since *checks notes*.... 2010?!
@@catoctober8005 Me as a Dutch person can still not really get that bright idea by the Eurovision team. Like how does Australia help promote European fraternization with the help of singing together?
As a BCer, I was so ready for our flag to hit F tier, but when you called it "The Maryland of Canadian Flags", I smiled wide. Home province pride, even if out flag is just... too much.
As a Torontonian, I just *LOVED* how Ontario seemed so nonpulsed there, with her Timmies cup and her cellphone. VERY Toronto...which is fitting, since the rest of Ontario thinks that Toronto gets too much attention over the rest of the province.
As an Albertan, I agree with your assessment. I have a fondness for it because I remember learning about the symbolism of the shield (the mountains, foothills, prairies, and the wheat fields, all underneath St. George's Cross) at an early age, and it greatly increased my appreciation for the variety and beauty of our scenery. I think there was a way to play into this concept with a different, visually striking design that doesn't feel like everyone in the decision process phoned it in.
We do have an alternative flag, I looked it up when I saw this video as Bonney Bee, it's light blue and pink to represent our official provincial flower. I also discovered that we have an official anthem which unfortunately sounds like an infomercial jingle mixed with a Hannah Montana song.
The Alberta government of the late 1960s clearly didn't understand that there's a time and a place each for a flag, crest, heraldry, coat of arms, and it's kind of unfortunate (though they clearly aren't alone there). We could so easily have something better, there's so many recognizable icons you _could_ design a flag around.
As a graphic designer, I have a differing opinion. I think the Alberta flag is rather well-designed with a balance of striking yet harmonious colors, unlike many other flags. The blue background helps draw the center of focus into the sky of the seal, and the English flag above where it serves as the province's principle. The line-weight and overall detail on the seal is just right without being too simple or complex. Most importantly, you get the feeling that you don't need to know anything about Alberta to understand the symbolism at play, instead of relying on convoluted shapes or adornments with layers of obfuscated symbolism.
@@879PC I didn't know about the anthem, but that tracks! I also haven't seen the flag you describe. The only alternate flag I know of is the Franco-Albertan flag, which I think would have ranked quite well among the flags in this video.
So Grey, you actually missed one of the better flags. While Newfoundland and Labrador collectively have a flag, Labrador itself has their own, separate flag that they are quite proud of (and rightfully so).
Giving Québec the S tier is everything that needs to be said, they never embraced or conformed to their British overlords and kept all their traditions. Québec is a true legend across the board.
Nunavut really was underrated in the video. It's a striking, very recognizable design. It's simple enough that anyone could draw it, and there are no words. It follows all the rules he set up in the American State flags video. I think the only reason it was put in B tier because he wanted a narwall. You can't rate something for what it isn't. Yes, a narwall would be cool, but Nunavut has a stunning flag. Should be S tier.
Je le déteste, mais à cause de ses significations d’allégeance au pape et à la monarchie française - je suis républicaine! On va pas se séparer de la monarchie anglaise pour s'allier à une autre monarchie (et en plus une monarchie qui n'existe même plus!)
@@Danger_N00dle It pretty much considered to be perfect in vexilogical circles! If you search around a bit you should find quite a few videos on the topic.
Aww. I'm so glad you put this one up as a Christmas present! As an American, I know very little about the Canadian flags and it was awesome to learn more about them! (Some of the designs are COOL, too.) And it's all snowy and cozy, and that shot of all the Province characters having a happy snowball fight outside...it's just this nice mix of adorable and educational. S-tier. Also I agree with you: more narwhal needed. :P
I’m literally drinking a Tim Hortons coffee while watching Ontario drink “maybe Tim’s” in a CGP Grey video….. this is the best Christmas gift you could have gotten me!
A quick note on the Australian state flags since they were briefly mentioned. The reason why the orange flag doesn't match the rest of the Jack and Arms design is because that is the flag of the Northern Territory and not a state flag. Australia has 6 states which all share the Jack and Arms, and 2 territories which both use the Southern Cross constellation on the left with the coat of arms on the right. Look up the flag of the Australian Capital Territory to see what I mean.
ohhhh that's clever. Making the federal territory flags different in design structure to the state flags. Then there's the Aboriginal flag, which is probs cleaner design-wise and a lot nicer looking than the state flags with their crests and such. The main country flag does a much nicer job using the stars to fill space
I’d much prefer all the States adopt a similar design to the territories though. Jettison the Union Jack and replace it with a southern cross, state colours and state badge.
The subtle _Lord of the Rings_ book designs in the book case behind you! Genius!! I love these classroom flag videos. I feel like I could watch a full series of them.
I wish the franco-ontarian flag had gotten a shout-out, it's got the fleur-de-lys of the French, the trillium of Ontario, the green of the summer and the white of the snow. Pretty, simple, and clear message. It's underrated!
not crazy about the half/half split but it's not a bad flag, maybe in that C++ tier. Probably similar to the Acadian Flag which has a crisp tri-color of the French flag, with a much better blue, with the Star of Mary in the blue.
For New Brunswick, the ship is referenced to the Marco Polo which was built in Saint John New Brunswick in 1851. The ship was known to be one of the fastest ships during it operational period and served as the pride/symbol of the ship building industry of New Brunswick, which was one of its primary industries during the 19th and early 20th century.
I feel like they all just sit in C tier though, because they're all so similar (other than NT, which is great but out of place alongside the others). As a Western Australian though, I feel more affinity for our black swan than I do for the national flag.
I love the Hobbit+LOTR hiding on the shelf as a little Easter egg. Easy to miss but those are by far the best editions cover design wise so I had to show some love ❤
I did too, but they made me wonder about the rest of the books on the shelf. They're all detailed to a similar degree; enough that they feel like they're also references to real books, but I don't recognize any of them.
I'm so happy you made this one public! But I'm from Newfoundland so that means I'm legally obligated to tell you that your pronunciation of "Newfoundland" was not too bad!! You leaned a little to close to "New-Finland," but points for not saying "New-Found-Land" Also, I'd like to point out that our flag has some pretty fun details! The two red triangles represent the island of Newfoundland, as well as Labrador, both of which are triangular in shape, while the solid blue triangles represent the ocean as that has been a major influence on our culture/economy since forever. The colours were chosen because of their presence in the Canadian, British, and French flags, which make up the majority of our (white) heritage, except the gold which is of course a unique colour chosen to represent the unique and valuable culture of NL and her people. All of these elements come together to form a trident (for more ocean imagery) pointing eastward, as NL is the most eastern province in Canada (and also contains the most eastern point in the Americas.) Edit: also I was very impressed you mentioned our unofficial tricolour! We typically call it the "Republic of Newfoundland" flag, but that's not really what it is. Most people will tell you it represents the peace (white) between the catholics and protestants (green and pink,) but that's just stolen from the Republic of Ireland flag meaning, but with protestants represented by pink instead of orange. We have a lot of Irish heritage in Newfoundland, so the flags are almost definitely related somehow. What I cant believe is that you would bring up the RoN flag but not the Labrador flag, which is honestly an A-tier flag!!
@@alastairtivy-harris8129it's got the same rhythm as "understand"! It's like NEW-fn-LAND (with land said like in Disneyland, not like in Maryland or Ireland). New-finland is close, but say Land like it's just the word land and you're golden.
Imma be honest as a Brit I couldn't see the trident until you pointed it out, I just thought it was an off centre wire frame like half union flag or something. That makes so much more sense now!
I'm from the opposite coast, but I love the NF-L flag! You guys found a fantastic balance between simplicity and distinctiveness; easily belongs in A tier.
The British Columbia flag is so busy with its design, but it's so busy, it ends up looking wicked cool. Heck, it's beyond busy. It's like the honest work of someone who wish pain upon you. And the stretched-out Union flag at the top is something! The four wavy white and three wavy blue lines symbolize the province's location between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. The setting sun represents the fact that British Columbia is Canada's westernmost province. The image of the continuously rising sun refers to the provincial motto splendor sine occasu (Latin for 'splendour without diminishment'), suggesting the idea that the sun never sets (on the British Empire). And yes, the Canadian flag is absolutely one of the best with its iconic design that stands out with its maple leaf. The reason Canada ended up with that flag is during the Suez Crisis, the Egyptian government objected to Canadian peacekeeping forces on the grounds that the Canadian flag had the Union flag. So Lester B. Pearson wanted to create a flag that was unmistakably Canadian. A flag designed by Alan Beddoe had blue stripes on the ends and three leaves, while George Stanley's design with red stripes and one leaf was inspired by the flag of the Royal Military College of Canada...and the rest was history.
George Stanley was living in my hometown when he designed the Maple Leaf. Unfortunately it's raising there was greeted with boos, supposedly. A couple of years back a statue of him sitting on a bench was unveiled downtown.
Raspberry cordial! Anne (from PEI) loves raspberry cordial. It's a non-alciholic drink made with raspberries, lemons and sugar. At one point in the book, she wants to serve it to her friends, but she accidentally switches it out for currant wine and gets them drunk...
As someone who lived in Nunavut as a kid and still has it in my heart i love our flag. Our coat of arms is awesome but the inukshuk being a symbol to guide your way home makes it kind of perfect for a flag
I know this isn't a flag idea, but here is a cool idea for another spin off series: Grading movie posters! An idea to talk about cinema, the development of movies across the years, and what makes people interested in a movie. This could be done with the top 10 best/most memorable movies of each decade (decided via poll or movie listings); and be ranked on which looks the coolest, what makes people eager to go attend the movie without any context about it, and which makes them long-living.
The narwhal was suggested by many, but flag designers were having Nunavut.
Well played sir
I see what you did there.
Damn you! Take my upvote... :)
I'd like that comment, but that would break the Far Eastern auspicious number of 888. Have an emoji. 👍
The year is 2189. Grey’s preserved robot consciousness has finally graded every flag on earth.
That's far too fast for his upload schedule, even if he uses AI
up next, Flags of the Independent Colonies Of Mars
Least Amazing comment by a CGPgrey fan
Except if we were to do that, that wouldn't be him. It would be just a copy of him with the real Grey long cold and blue.
That’s an ambitious target
As someone living in the Yukon I would like to point out that the slightly off dimensions of the Yukon flag is the most Yukon thing possible. That should have been an extra point for an inside joke
as a Yukoner, I agree. 👍👍👍
As a Canadian who can't really drop extra money on RUclips memberships, it's really nice to get this as a Christmas gift. Merry Christmas Grey, thanks for an amazing gift
Same
Same
Same
Same here
Bestest reply award!
As a Newfie, not only am I always going to see our flag as a space-age banner forevermore, I also love that we manage to fit between ranks...just like we do timezones!
She's all based on the moon there b'y
Quebecois here, your flag should be A tier at least
I, for one, welcome our space Newfie overlords
Lmao
I think Nunavut deserved at least A Tier for the traditonal symbol, the simple colors and the easyness to draw and reconize it
Yeah bro
I'd give it an S
Something in me can't accept that it's not a 3 year old's doodle with random paint fill tool clicks. D tier.
Unique, simple, striking and pretty. Easy A tier, bordering on S.
Have you... seen an inukshuk before?@@GasssFreak
Grey forcing Canadian slang into his scripting was very funny. Hearing him call the BC flag a "gong show" caught me off guard lol
I only recently realized the term "gong show" is exclusively Canadian.
Wait it is? @@Arkiasis
Handing out freezies killed me
Never knew that before but thank you for teaching me something new 😂
FREEZIES ARE ONLY CANADIAN!???!?!??!?@@hammieli1875
I appreciate that CGP went deep with Canadian references. Didnt just joke about poutine and maple syrup like soo many creators do...
Yes! So many fun ones xD
you guys have poutine and maple syrup?
They really shouldn't. Maple sugar is no joke!
Especially since those are all just Québec (OG Canada) cultural referents, not modern Canada as a whole.
I have to admit that I just picked up on the "Oh, Canada!" at the beginning.
The lazy and indifferent Ontarian with her head in her phone and cup of Tim's in her hand is my favourite Canadian joke.
CGP Grey uploading a video right before Christmas is truly a Christmas treat.
Commenting a lot more, eh?
NO HES EVERYWHERE
I know I am biased... as a Canadian... but the Canadian flag really is a masterpiece in flag design. Simple. Iconic. Unique. Stands out. Clear Message. And all while still looking really nice.
I'm from the US and I think your flag is S tier. It's not just aesthetically pleasing, it's practical. Well done Canada!
@@hoebareas a fellow American from Ohio, I second this
I'm Norwegian, and I agree that your flag is definitely one of the best, maybe even the best. Only one I can think of that comes close is Japan.
And it's really easy to draw in a way that still makes it immediately recognizable, no matter how bad you are at drawing
You also have a much better national anthem.
We need a two-hour video of Gray grading all the world's flags. I'd happily buy that.
5:53 As someone from British Columbia, I can not believe you put it so high with how busy this flag is. Though perhaps my dislike of it comes from being made to draw it in social studies classes in school which unexpectedly was pure torture.
I'm with you on this one
It would have been perfect if its just the british flag and the crown in the middle
What's worse, drawing BC's flag or colouring in Nunavut?
THE ASPECT RATIO just gets to me. It looks like the flag was stretched.
Fellow British Columbian, I was also shocked
As someone from Prince Edward Island, I was a little bit upset with the grade he gave us, but I understand why after thinking about it. And I appreciated the apology (and laughed) he gave us for being too harsh in the end!!!
PEI isn't my home province but I love the flag the way it is
I HAVE FOUND ANOTHER PEISLANDER IN THE WILD, AT LONG LAST 😭😭😭
Honestly it's F-
I understand why it's not great design wise but I'm fascinated by it and the decisions that were made? Never seen it before the video
What was the thing he said PEI was going to go catch? It sounded like Kaylee but the subtitle said Kaye.
The Inukshuk on the Nunavut flag is even better when you consider the fact that Nunavut means "Our land" in Inuktitut. So the Inukshuk helps guide the people back to their home! The red on the Inukshuk represents Canada as a whole. And blue and gold were chosen to represent the riches of land, sea, and sky. Over 800 submissions were received for the Nunavut flag, and these submissions were reviewed and winnowed by a committee made up of artists and local elders who chose ten finalists. From the symbols and colors of these ten finalists, five draft designs of the flag were developed. They were assisted in drafting these by local Inuit artist Andrew Qappik.
Andrew Qappik also helped create Nunavut's coat of arms. Again, blue and gold symbolizes the riches of the land. In chief is a representation of both the midnight sun and the North Star. And to the left of the Inukshuk is a qulliq, a stone lamp representing the warmth of home and community. The caribou and narwhal represent sustenance and natural resources of the land and sea. They stand on a compartment with Arctic poppies, dwarf fireweed, and Arctic heather, alongside an iceberg. At the bottom it says "Our Land, Our Strength".
Nunavut is strong A imo, was surprised by Grey here
Become S tier
that flag not being S tier is the great tragedy here
.
But what if it had a narwhal
"The belle province herself, Québec.
S-tier. Rien à redire."
CGP Grey, you are a scholar and a gentleman.
Chef's kiss.
I love it when Grey finds a flag that is precisely the right mix of "charming" and "absolute disaster" that he's able to just appreciate the madness of it.
As someone who lives in NB, "charming" and "absolute disaster" accurately describes our province.
i guess you could call it the maryland effect?
I think we (BC) should go back to an earlier draft of our flag, where the setting sun was above the Union Jack. Just stick it to them now. To quote a king possessed by a wizard: “(the British) have no power here”
@@aidanwotherspoon905idk our flag is kind of iconic now, it may be a mess but its our mess
As someone from Vancouver, BC holding an umbrella made me laugh out loud.
And even as a Canadian flag nerd, I get Ontario and Manitoba mixed up all the time 😂
As someone from ontario, their flags may look alike, but there’s one major difference
One has lots of people, the other is Manitoba
Manitoba is the one with the bison.
@@gerardacronin334And that makes it buddies with Wyoming's flag! At least, I like to think so. Snow-cowboys stickin' together. :)
Did you also notice the rainwater on the floor?
@@ThreePointOneFou Yup
Alberta is the most American of Canadian provinces, so the flag matches
Vexillogically and culturally accurate
I never thought about this… you’re absolutely right wow.
Alberta was actually settled in large part by Americans, a mix of Americans and central Europeans. Alberta is also where the Social Gospel got its footing in Canada and led directly to the NDP
Ontario is the most American of Canadian provinces, whereas Alberta is the most Texan
@@tamasburik9971 If your taking what the USA really is, yeah. Talking about Stereotypes however, Alberta is
The way you draw places/states/provinces is just so adorable, please keep your style :)
I never would have thought of the newfoundland flag as being like a galactic banner for a spacefaring empire. I always thought of it as being the fisherman's union jack. Thanks for bringing forth a new light!
Fisherman’s Union Jack is the funniest thing I heard all day😂
“Trying to track down where it really came from was a mess that went nowhere…”
Why, that sounds like the perfect subject for the next 20-minute “someone dead ruined my life” video!
Again!!!! … & again 3.0!!!
The reason why Ontario and Manitoba's ensign flags were only made "official" after the maple leaf was adopted was because the powers at be in the two provinces believed that the mid-20th century Canadian trend of flag redesigns were slighting the monarchy and their British history, which was very important to English-speaking Canada at the time. So the two provinces passed legislation stating that they were not going to replace their ensigns.
Ontario choosing this route makes sense, as they were a very conservative English-speaking province at the time, but Manitoba is a bit interesting since there is a large French population in the province that presumably had no love for the British monarchs. I guess the English majority held the balance of power so that's all that mattered.
Ontario was part of the initial french colonies, so it has a french speaking population too. As for why that didn't do much in either province, there were a bunch of assimilation policies against the use of french, so it's not like they had much influence. There was also the deportation of Acadians in what's now the maritimes. Manitoba also has the added layer that a significant portion of the french speaking population was métis, who were also discriminated against for their indigenous ancestry.
The history of Canada in a nutshell.
"Powers at be"? Whoa! Thank you for a fascinating new eggcorn, even if it was really just a typo!
Joke is, both province always were super French speaking, more than most. It’s because they had such large French minorities that they were so pro British.
@@taiga738 Discriminated enough that were rebellions that gave a hell of a scare to the folks in Ottawa.
I absolutely love how disinterested Ontario looks through everything, with her Tim Horton’s coffee and barely even looking up from her phone. 😂
as an ontarian, thank you for putting us in our appropriate place
well said
As an Ontarian who moved to Quebec, I’m very satisfied with both provinces’ rankings
As a Manitoban I heavily agree
Thoroughly deserved.
Same here! Talk about remaining stuck in the past!
I like how grey understands cold food is better in winter by handing our freezies
Thanks!
As a Québécois, I was afraid... but like with Texas, sheer levels of local proud display bump it up. Merci monsieur.
It's the design. Just like the Canadian flag, it has a simple but extremely effective look that is--*drum roll*--distinct from all the other flags.
@@andrewweitzman4006 As an Albertan who was born in Saskatchewan, I Envy the timeless classic that is the flag of Quebec, with its tasteful two tone simplicity, drawing on distinct heritage, and easily being the best provincial flag in Canada.
Nothing to worry about, it’s well known for its fantastic design, better than some country flags even.
I would have enjoyed a bit more discussion about it however.
I like Quebec and honnestly , it's great to see that there's some western Canadians that got some interest for Quebec
This is the greatest Christmas gift as a Canadian. Thanks Grey!
Also Quebec deserves that S tier and then some. Beautiful flag for a beautiful province. Love from Saskatchewan❤
I really love the personalities in the "students" its so much fun to see their expressions.
fr
As a Newfoundlander who tried to find the origin of the tricolour, I know the pain! Pre confederation history here can be rather messy sometimes, it could probably make an interesting video
Ya grey give us the side video of your search for the Newfie tricolour, like you did the Tiffany
I wish he had mentioned the Labrador flag too!
A wizard did it.
I was bummed by his low grade for the current Newfoundland provincial flag. It's my personal favorite, er, favourite. (It's also the province with my favourite people.)
He forgot the Labrador flag 😢
5:37 "(...) a mess that went nowhere"
Don't tell me another dead person ruined your life again
I will always love how Grey represents locations, organizations, etc. It's such simple designs and yet so unique
Merry Christmas Grey! And thank you for letting all of us at home in on the Bonny Bee magic
Tbf, I really like Nova Scotia's flag, albeit I am Scottish. But it's quite a smart way to incorporate both the Saltire and the Lion Rampant flags, both of which are still popularly used in Scotland, without just copying the Scottish Saltire completely. Genuinely just a neat flag that doesn't do anything wrong. Even the Lion Rampant's inclusion seems to have been done tastefully, kind of reminding me of how Portugal incorporated it's cost of arms.
Definitely biased as a Nova Scotian, but I agree. I feel like it deserves an A for its (relative) simplicity and distinctiveness.
Where in Scotland?
so, whats portugals cost of arms? what did they pay?
Dear Grey,
Please make a tier list of all the national flags of the world. I truly cannot get enough flag rankings.
Sincerely,
Your most loyal Bonnie Bee 🐝🖤
AGREED
I don't think it's going to happen because you would have to choose which country to include and that would be a political nightmare. For example: do you include Taiwan as an independent country?
@@lebesnecI’d say just include all of them. The more flag designs to rank, the better.
Nepal: S+
The double triangle seals the deal
@@lebesnec well, just do all the UN members.
As a New Brunswicker, thanks for liking our flag so much! It is actually pretty awesome!
I have always loved the New Brunswick flag. It's so charming and nautical. 🥰 (I am a sucker for the east coast in general though too)
Heck yeah! Praise to the Eastern Homeland!
our coat of arms is wild too
The faces you animate on them won't ever stop being SO incredibly cute, I love them sm!
Also, Nunavut is undoubtedly an S tier
Hey, major props for the *perfect* pronunciation of Nunavut, as well as the Canadian slang
and yet New Finland instead of Newfoundland.
He pronounced Quebec wrong, its Ké-bèk
@@smdyoutubethat's French pronunciation
4:50
As someone from New Brunswick it's awesome to see what little recognition we get being so positive.
Was waiting for the BC and Quebec rankings, those are my favourite so I'm glad you gave them the respect they deserve!
OMG Grey, this video has me excited for 3 reasons:
1) I LOVE how you have The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings on the shelf behind your head. That's an S Tier super-sneaky easter egg!
2) I'm Canadian (bonus thanks for giving British Columbia an A)
3) It's 2 days until Christmas, so thank you for this video gift
Merry Christmas Grey & Happy New Year! Thanks for entertaining me since *checks notes*.... 2010?!
I’m so glad someone else noticed them 😂
Fun fact:2010 is also the year Australia entered Eurovision
I *thought* those books looked familiar!
Came her for this and was not disappointed. Thank you for seeing LOTR and Hobbit also.
@@catoctober8005 Me as a Dutch person can still not really get that bright idea by the Eurovision team. Like how does Australia help promote European fraternization with the help of singing together?
As a BCer, I was so ready for our flag to hit F tier, but when you called it "The Maryland of Canadian Flags", I smiled wide. Home province pride, even if out flag is just... too much.
oh no, you leave Maryland for dead....they are the clown pants of flags
@@donhappel9566you watch your mouth!!!!!!!
Fellow BCer here. Couldn't agree more!
I do have a question though. How is the sun setting *in front* of the ocean?
As a BCer, facing East to Alberta; na na na na na na!
As a Torontonian, I just *LOVED* how Ontario seemed so nonpulsed there, with her Timmies cup and her cellphone. VERY Toronto...which is fitting, since the rest of Ontario thinks that Toronto gets too much attention over the rest of the province.
Which is funny cause had he touched on more city flags, Toronto’s is one of the best.
As an Albertan, I agree with your assessment. I have a fondness for it because I remember learning about the symbolism of the shield (the mountains, foothills, prairies, and the wheat fields, all underneath St. George's Cross) at an early age, and it greatly increased my appreciation for the variety and beauty of our scenery. I think there was a way to play into this concept with a different, visually striking design that doesn't feel like everyone in the decision process phoned it in.
We do have an alternative flag, I looked it up when I saw this video as Bonney Bee, it's light blue and pink to represent our official provincial flower. I also discovered that we have an official anthem which unfortunately sounds like an infomercial jingle mixed with a Hannah Montana song.
The Alberta government of the late 1960s clearly didn't understand that there's a time and a place each for a flag, crest, heraldry, coat of arms, and it's kind of unfortunate (though they clearly aren't alone there). We could so easily have something better, there's so many recognizable icons you _could_ design a flag around.
As a graphic designer, I have a differing opinion. I think the Alberta flag is rather well-designed with a balance of striking yet harmonious colors, unlike many other flags. The blue background helps draw the center of focus into the sky of the seal, and the English flag above where it serves as the province's principle. The line-weight and overall detail on the seal is just right without being too simple or complex. Most importantly, you get the feeling that you don't need to know anything about Alberta to understand the symbolism at play, instead of relying on convoluted shapes or adornments with layers of obfuscated symbolism.
@@879PC I didn't know about the anthem, but that tracks!
I also haven't seen the flag you describe. The only alternate flag I know of is the Franco-Albertan flag, which I think would have ranked quite well among the flags in this video.
I’m from Calgary and I feel called out.
Newfoundland and Labrador’s flag is iconic and is a solid A tier. Recognizable and a flag very popular with the Newfies.
Bien joué Québec, votre drapeau fait honneur a toute les communauté francophone.
I am so glad my home and native land got a province flag video! Truly an epic Christmas present 😇
So Grey, you actually missed one of the better flags. While Newfoundland and Labrador collectively have a flag, Labrador itself has their own, separate flag that they are quite proud of (and rightfully so).
Labrador is not a province.
@rtixboi4193 while accurate, the Newfoundland tricolor was never an official flag for the province either but he still mentioned it.
I absolutely love the flag of Labrador, definitely my favourite.
honestly best flag
If you’re going to mention a second flag for Newfoundland & Labrador. It should be Labrador.
Giving Québec the S tier is everything that needs to be said, they never embraced or conformed to their British overlords and kept all their traditions. Québec is a true legend across the board.
I love how they're given personalities, it's adorable 😊
Canadian here, thank you for the great Christmas present. Love it. I think you were overall very fair in your assessment of our flags.
Inuit got a little shafted. That’s at least an A tier flag. And the twins could have been lower somehow… (manitoban here)
@@bencressman6110Nunavut was snubbed I agree.
@@9JSfilms I second that. It's absolutely perfect given the rules he set out in the American state flags. I think he just wanted a narwall on a flag.
Nunavut really was underrated in the video. It's a striking, very recognizable design. It's simple enough that anyone could draw it, and there are no words. It follows all the rules he set up in the American State flags video. I think the only reason it was put in B tier because he wanted a narwall. You can't rate something for what it isn't. Yes, a narwall would be cool, but Nunavut has a stunning flag. Should be S tier.
I concur 100%!
It's really ugly though
He said he would've changed ratings if he redid the video
as a proud québécois, i am so happy our province flag is in S tier.
As an Ontarian, I was devastated seeing this.
I know right!
I was surprised he had no comments as well.
As if the thing was absolute perfection lmao
It is truly an s-tier flag. I even see it in foreign countries, presumably because of how awesome it is.
Je le déteste, mais à cause de ses significations d’allégeance au pape et à la monarchie française - je suis républicaine! On va pas se séparer de la monarchie anglaise pour s'allier à une autre monarchie (et en plus une monarchie qui n'existe même plus!)
@@Danger_N00dle It pretty much considered to be perfect in vexilogical circles! If you search around a bit you should find quite a few videos on the topic.
S-tier; rien à redire.
Flatteur! Flag-orneur! On adore ça.
Cheers
Aww. I'm so glad you put this one up as a Christmas present! As an American, I know very little about the Canadian flags and it was awesome to learn more about them! (Some of the designs are COOL, too.) And it's all snowy and cozy, and that shot of all the Province characters having a happy snowball fight outside...it's just this nice mix of adorable and educational. S-tier.
Also I agree with you: more narwhal needed. :P
I’m literally drinking a Tim Hortons coffee while watching Ontario drink “maybe Tim’s” in a CGP Grey video….. this is the best Christmas gift you could have gotten me!
A quick note on the Australian state flags since they were briefly mentioned. The reason why the orange flag doesn't match the rest of the Jack and Arms design is because that is the flag of the Northern Territory and not a state flag. Australia has 6 states which all share the Jack and Arms, and 2 territories which both use the Southern Cross constellation on the left with the coat of arms on the right. Look up the flag of the Australian Capital Territory to see what I mean.
ohhhh that's clever. Making the federal territory flags different in design structure to the state flags. Then there's the Aboriginal flag, which is probs cleaner design-wise and a lot nicer looking than the state flags with their crests and such. The main country flag does a much nicer job using the stars to fill space
I’d much prefer all the States adopt a similar design to the territories though. Jettison the Union Jack and replace it with a southern cross, state colours and state badge.
As a Newfie, I feel happy grey had made our flag the space age future flag
The Galactic Newfie Empire shall rise
@@avroarchitect1793Quebec is next. Hail Newfoundland!
We haven't had a new Grey video in 2024. We're a quarter of the way through the year lolol 😭 I'm telling Brady
I'm suddenly in the mood for a Grey video discussing heraldry.
YES. ALL THE YES.
Ooooooh!!!!!
I second this motion.
I don't know why I love these flag videos so much, but they're great.
Happy holidays and happy new year Grey!
they are truly *inexplicably perfect:)*
Damn what would I give for him to grade my countries (Germany) state flags...
The subtle _Lord of the Rings_ book designs in the book case behind you! Genius!!
I love these classroom flag videos. I feel like I could watch a full series of them.
There's also the 3-volume Feynman Lectures on Physics up there, on the bottom left.
Just realized that all titles fit the length of white block, including the Hobbit😊
also "three body problem" trilogy on the top left. what's on the top right, anyone?
This isn't the Christmas present we asked for but the one we needed
yes. all 6,060,000 CGP Grey fans wanted it
@@WhizzKid2012That's surely a larger population than most of the Canadian provinces!
@@nomadMik because canada is tiny. canada has just about the same number of people as poland
@@WhizzKid2012 It's certainly sparsely populated, but it's the opposite of 'tiny'-it's the second biggest country in the world.
As someone from Saskatchewan I'm honoured that our province was mentioned in this video
I wish the franco-ontarian flag had gotten a shout-out, it's got the fleur-de-lys of the French, the trillium of Ontario, the green of the summer and the white of the snow. Pretty, simple, and clear message. It's underrated!
The White and green trillium should be Ontario's official flag. It's just about perfect as symbols go
not crazy about the half/half split but it's not a bad flag, maybe in that C++ tier. Probably similar to the Acadian Flag which has a crisp tri-color of the French flag, with a much better blue, with the Star of Mary in the blue.
Ricky Gervais is the greatest Franco-Ontarian!
For New Brunswick, the ship is referenced to the Marco Polo which was built in Saint John New Brunswick in 1851. The ship was known to be one of the fastest ships during it operational period and served as the pride/symbol of the ship building industry of New Brunswick, which was one of its primary industries during the 19th and early 20th century.
Being from Ontario but having moved out to New Brunswick, let me tell you; the flag upgrade was a nice bonus
You should do the Australian states and territories next.
As a proud Australian you should do Australia next. And include overseas territories
Yankee here. Love your country, Ozz.
Just don't look at the City of Sydney, it's pure awful.
@@communistpropagandist4608 I looked, and I am horrified.
I feel like they all just sit in C tier though, because they're all so similar (other than NT, which is great but out of place alongside the others). As a Western Australian though, I feel more affinity for our black swan than I do for the national flag.
Australia
I love the Hobbit+LOTR hiding on the shelf as a little Easter egg. Easy to miss but those are by far the best editions cover design wise so I had to show some love ❤
I love that!
The smile at 2:49 is some top tier visual comedy.
The rain droplets trailing behind the BC girl was not expected, but also very accurate. Nice one
Merry Christmas Grey! Thank you for giving us entertaining, engaging, and enlightening content all these years! :)
I'm still laughing at the 'Maryland point' Where ugly becomes awesome. We put that flag on everything.
5:44 “hey Lois, I’m a flag”
I love that you took the time to draw in those iconic Hobbit & Lord of the Rings book spines onto your shelf! :)
I was looking for someone else to have noticed these, too.
I did too, but they made me wonder about the rest of the books on the shelf. They're all detailed to a similar degree; enough that they feel like they're also references to real books, but I don't recognize any of them.
The green, yellow, and blue ones on the top shelf are the Three Body Problem series!
Mon austie de tabarnak, t’as réussi à mettre le drapeau québécois pile à la bonne place dans la liste. Bravo!!!
I'm so happy you made this one public! But I'm from Newfoundland so that means I'm legally obligated to tell you that your pronunciation of "Newfoundland" was not too bad!! You leaned a little to close to "New-Finland," but points for not saying "New-Found-Land"
Also, I'd like to point out that our flag has some pretty fun details! The two red triangles represent the island of Newfoundland, as well as Labrador, both of which are triangular in shape, while the solid blue triangles represent the ocean as that has been a major influence on our culture/economy since forever. The colours were chosen because of their presence in the Canadian, British, and French flags, which make up the majority of our (white) heritage, except the gold which is of course a unique colour chosen to represent the unique and valuable culture of NL and her people.
All of these elements come together to form a trident (for more ocean imagery) pointing eastward, as NL is the most eastern province in Canada (and also contains the most eastern point in the Americas.)
Edit: also I was very impressed you mentioned our unofficial tricolour! We typically call it the "Republic of Newfoundland" flag, but that's not really what it is. Most people will tell you it represents the peace (white) between the catholics and protestants (green and pink,) but that's just stolen from the Republic of Ireland flag meaning, but with protestants represented by pink instead of orange. We have a lot of Irish heritage in Newfoundland, so the flags are almost definitely related somehow.
What I cant believe is that you would bring up the RoN flag but not the Labrador flag, which is honestly an A-tier flag!!
Now that I think about it, how DOES one pronounce Newfoundland?
@@alastairtivy-harris8129it's got the same rhythm as "understand"! It's like NEW-fn-LAND (with land said like in Disneyland, not like in Maryland or Ireland). New-finland is close, but say Land like it's just the word land and you're golden.
Imma be honest as a Brit I couldn't see the trident until you pointed it out, I just thought it was an off centre wire frame like half union flag or something.
That makes so much more sense now!
I'm from the opposite coast, but I love the NF-L flag! You guys found a fantastic balance between simplicity and distinctiveness; easily belongs in A tier.
The NFLD flag in "dark mode portrait" would be instant S tier.
Merry christmas CGP grey, and thanks for releasing a member exclusive episode for free!
Nunavut deserved S tier. Unique, distinctive and follows all the guidelines
0:14 "Oh, Canada!" HE SAID THE THING
I love the fact that the two S tier flags of Canada where chosen by people from Quebec
Grey roasting places flags like their little school girls will forever remain a classic.
THE TWO WALKING AWAY WITH A FREEZIE- I CAN'T!!!! TOO CUTE!!!
The British Columbia flag is so busy with its design, but it's so busy, it ends up looking wicked cool. Heck, it's beyond busy. It's like the honest work of someone who wish pain upon you. And the stretched-out Union flag at the top is something! The four wavy white and three wavy blue lines symbolize the province's location between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. The setting sun represents the fact that British Columbia is Canada's westernmost province. The image of the continuously rising sun refers to the provincial motto splendor sine occasu (Latin for 'splendour without diminishment'), suggesting the idea that the sun never sets (on the British Empire).
And yes, the Canadian flag is absolutely one of the best with its iconic design that stands out with its maple leaf. The reason Canada ended up with that flag is during the Suez Crisis, the Egyptian government objected to Canadian peacekeeping forces on the grounds that the Canadian flag had the Union flag. So Lester B. Pearson wanted to create a flag that was unmistakably Canadian. A flag designed by Alan Beddoe had blue stripes on the ends and three leaves, while George Stanley's design with red stripes and one leaf was inspired by the flag of the Royal Military College of Canada...and the rest was history.
George Stanley was living in my hometown when he designed the Maple Leaf. Unfortunately it's raising there was greeted with boos, supposedly. A couple of years back a statue of him sitting on a bench was unveiled downtown.
Damn, Kim got some opinions on some flags
We gotta hear the final thoughts on the weird monocolor version of Minnesota's flag!
It's on for the Bonnie Bees
umm hello that is NOT monocolor.. THere are at least 3 involved.
@@ZakhadWOW You know what he means. The proposed design had a tricolor element that they replaced with a solid light blue in the final version.
he has
@@anAmishGuy I'm sure it was a joke
1:09 I love the American states peeking from the window detail
I'm a New Brunswicker who has always loved our flag. I shouted out loud hearing it get the stamp of approval from Grey.
I have that same set of LOTR books that are in the bookcase. It's great how iconic they look with just black and simple colour circles.
I love the way you give each entity such a unique personality
Merry Christmas!
As a Canadian student, this truly was a wonderful holiday gift. Loved the Canadi-fying of this video. Thank you Grey, now go rest
As someone from Quebec, I am happy to see its flag on the S tier!
as it deserves to be :)
Easily the best provincial/territorial flag. It does what a flag should do
@@kourii it's a national flag
For Grey's criteria, totally checks out. He is if nothing consistent. But genuinely quebec does have an iconic flag
Querbecers
Would love to see your thoughts on the francophone community flags of each province and territory. They’re very nice!
Aww, the Anne of Green Gables reference! Merry Christmas Grey.
Sorry... What was the reference?
@daisybrain9423 The mention of Raspberry Cordial which is from the book (and it's an amazing drink btw.)
Raspberry cordial! Anne (from PEI) loves raspberry cordial. It's a non-alciholic drink made with raspberries, lemons and sugar. At one point in the book, she wants to serve it to her friends, but she accidentally switches it out for currant wine and gets them drunk...
As someone who lived in Nunavut as a kid and still has it in my heart i love our flag. Our coat of arms is awesome but the inukshuk being a symbol to guide your way home makes it kind of perfect for a flag
I know this isn't a flag idea, but here is a cool idea for another spin off series:
Grading movie posters! An idea to talk about cinema, the development of movies across the years, and what makes people interested in a movie.
This could be done with the top 10 best/most memorable movies of each decade (decided via poll or movie listings); and be ranked on which looks the coolest, what makes people eager to go attend the movie without any context about it, and which makes them long-living.
Minnesota flag is finalized you got to do an update now. Thanks and Merry Christmas.
They were so close to that tri color but fudged it at the last second
@@BrandEver117 yeah but at least the final design is better than the old one.
I'm in love with the New Brunswick flag! The sailing ship on the water is so nice.
so glad to see this video opened to the public!! happy holidays grey and much love from BC!