The Maple leaf has been our flag for about 40 years now. For the majority of Canadians it is the only Canadian flag that they have ever known. Most Canadians are not of British stock, and to them the Union Jack is just another foreign flag. The red ensign was originally the flag of the British Merchant Marine, but with a Canadian coat of arms added to it. Ontario still uses a version of the red ensign as its provincial flag.
As for Newfoundland, it is just politics as usual. The provincial and federal governments fighting over money, and how they should divide up the profits from the offshore oil.
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