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Houseflags of the Canadian Pacific Limited Companies (Canada)

Canadian Pacific Lines
- pre-1968 flag
- 1968 flag series
Canadian Maritime
Canadian Pacific Navigation Co.
Canadian-Australian Line, Ltd.

See also:

Canadian Pacific Lines

pre-1968 flag and flag since 28 April 2005
image by Al Fisher

1968 flag series

In 1968 the 'multimark' logos were introduced for Canadian Pacific Railway and its subsidiaries (all of which would come under the newly-formed Canadian Pacific Limited in 1971). The different subsidiaries shared the same logo design and the 'CP' initials, but differed in the colour combinations. Perhaps true to the anti-traditionalist sentiment of the Canadian establishments in the late 1960s, the colours assigned to each subsidiary seemed to be have no obvious meanings... The multimarks later became known as the 'Pac-Man' logos, and were eventually phased out in 1987.
Miles Li, 22 February 2015

CP Rail
image by Miles Li, 22 February 2015

Founded as Canadian Pacific Railway in 1881. Now reverted to its original name.
Miles Li, 22 February 2015

CP Air
image by Miles Li, 22 February 2015

Founded as Canadian Pacific Air Lines in 1942. Became Canadian Airlines in 1987; acquired by its rival Air Canada in 2000.
Miles Li, 22 February 2015

CP Ships
image by Miles Li, 22 February 2015

Founded as Canadian Pacific Steamship Company in 1887. Still known as CP Ships but now reverted to its old red-and-white chequered flag.
Miles Li, 22 February 2015

CP Express and Transport
image by Miles Li, 22 February 2015

Founded as Dominion Express Company in 1973; acquired by Canadian Pacific Railway in 1882; renamed Canadian Pacific Express Company in 1926. Ceased operations in 1997.
Miles Li, 22 February 2015

On 28 April 2005 it was announced the shipping activities were to be combined under a single identity of CP Ships Ltd. This involved the disappearance of seven brand names with their separate liveries being combined under a return to the original flag checky design of 6 white and red as shown by Al. It has just [19.10.2005] been announced that CP Ships have been taken over by TUI A.G. which is the parent company of Hapag-Lloyd.
Neale Rosanoski, 22 October 2005

Canadian Pacific was a Canadian company which owned ships, trains and planes.

Their former airline branch (Canadian Pacific Air or CP air) is the today CanadiXn Airlines (IATA code: CP )

X = a clever way to escape from the Canadian law that any name will appear in English and French. In order not to write both CanadiAn and CanadiEn on their planes , they put the company logo in the problematic font place.
Dov Gutterman, 27 January 1999

Canadian Pacific Railway Co. was incorporated 2.5.1882 as a Canadian company (principally US money) The checky flag originating from them from the way with the construction of the rail line land on either side of the track was allocated in alternate blocks to the railroad and the government and on maps these were showed by alternate blocks of red and white, a colour scheme adopted by the company when they went into ship owning, with a diminutive being used as a Jack (Flags of the World 1981 [c2b81]). The name was changed 3.7.1991 to Canadian Pacific Ltd.

Canadian Pacific Steamships Ltd. was formed as Canadian Pacific Ocean Services Ltd. [CPOS] formed 1.10.1915. to manage the North Atlantic Fleet which was to include Allan Bros & Co. U.K. Ltd. which was implemented 10.1.1916 and officially incorporated 16.7.1916 with a head office London, U.K. It changed name 8.9.1921 to Canadian Pacific Steamships Ltd. becoming based Liverpool. i.e. Stewart, and other sources, are quite correct to domicile it as a UK company although the flag is associated with both Canada and UK. The successor to this, Canada Maritime Services Ltd. is based at Horley, U.K.

In 1968 the shipping operations became known as CP Ships as a trade name and has subsequently become officially CP Ships Inc. In the late 1980s CP made a move out of shipping but subsequently they have gone back into it with their fleet being under the name of various subsidiaries, most of them being acquired companies.

In 11/1968 when the various CP divisions were set up, a common corporate design was introduced with different colours for these divisions i.e. as CP Rail red, CP Air orange, CP Ships green, CP Transport blue, CP Hotels grey and CP Telecommunications yellow ochre (Flags of the World 1969 [bar69]). Although the logo is said to represent a "C" and shows as such on the funnels, the flag appears to be the reverse in that the triangle and circle are in the hoist and therefore only give the "C" view on the reverse side. Sources appear uncertain as a result and some show the triangle etc in the fly so as to enable this view, but the Josef Nüsse table flag confirms that they should indeed be placed in the hoist. The red version applies to shipping also as CP Rail continued to run some coastal shipping until around the end of the century.
Neale Rosanoski, 22 November 2003

In more recent years (late 1960's) Canadian Pacific was reorganized into CP Rail, CP Ships, CP Hotels, CP Air, and a trucking firm, I think Smith? All of these used a modern logo that looks sort of like a Pac Man symbol (if you remember the video game!) In the 1950s CPR (Canadian Pacific Railway) used a beaver over shield logo. I believe I remember this on a flag in pictures, and I definitely saw the CP Rail logo on a flag. CP Air has been spun off, and the parent company is now calling itself Canadian Pacific again.
Kevin McNamara, 10 May 2000

After the sale of CP Ships to TUI AG in 2005, the new owner apparently had no interest in maintaining the symbols of the former owners. The company name, Canadian Pacific Steamships was listed as abandoned in Canada since 2011. It has since been re-registered as the Ontario corporation, Canadian Pacific Steamships Limited. The new CPSL is owned by Eyecon Enterprises Limited. The name Canadian Pacific Steamships has also been registered and trademarked in Canada along with the red & white graphic “three squares” flag logo. Again, these are now the property of Eyecon. Eyecon Enterprises Limited is a Canadian clothing and apparel company.
Sean Conroy, EYECON Enterprises, 19 September 2013

Canadian Maritime

image by Jorge Candeias

Recently, in that newspaper supplement I usually take my houseflag information from, a new logo appeared. It's the logo of a Canadian shipping company, called Canada Maritime and, apparently, based in Montréal. They have a website at http://www.canmar.com/ that, despite being image-heavy, shows no flags. They do have pictures of some of their ships, though, with some flaggy things barely visible in low resolution.

Anyway, the logo is basically a drawing of a flying flag as seen in (a scan of the logo as appears in the newspaper - better images available on their site). Two designs are probable of the actual flag: a boring LOB bearing this logo on white, or simply this flag.
Jorge Candeias,

Formed as a joint venture by N.V. CMB S.A. and Canadian Pacific in 1984 with CP taking over fully in 1993. The flying flag from a pole logo appears to be on the funnels (not sure of the pole) so the flag certainly seems likely, whatever the design may actually be.
Neale Rosanoski, 22 November 2003

Canadian Maritime is one of the "brands" of CP Ships Ltd. which disappeared under the 28 April 2005 decision.

Canadian Pacific Navigation Company

image by Phil Nelson

This was a freight and passenger company operating in the British Columbia area between 1883 and 1901. The company was purchased by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company.
Phil Nelson, 29 April 2000

Canadian-Australasian Line, Ltd.

image by Jarig Bakker

Canadian-Australasian Line was formed 7/1931 jointly by Canadian Pacific Railway Co. and Union Steam Ship Co. of N.Z. Ltd. with the service ceasing 5/1953. This version is shown by Brown 1943 and 1959 but Talbot-Booth 1949 and Stewart 1953 [ste53] and 1957 show the letters as black. Other earlier sources also show it using the flag of a predecessor, Canadian-Australian Royal Mail Steamship Co. Ltd., which had the blue letters "SCACo" in the appropriate white compartments starting from the chief, but that company did not have Canadian input.
Neale Rosanoski, 22 November 2003

From The National Maritime Museum:

The house flag of the Canadian Australasian Line, Vancouver. A rectangular white flag with a red saltire. The black sans serif letters 'C' and 'A' are in the side quarters. The flag is made of a wool and synthetic fibre bunting. It has a cotton hoist and is machine sewn. A rope and two Inglefield clips is attached. 'House Kootenay Park' is inscribed on the hoist. 'Kootenay Park' was one of the Second World War 10,000 dry cargo ships built in Canada for management by British Shipping Companies. There were three ships of this name launched between 1942 and 1944.
Shipping services on the Sydney-Victoria route were started by James Huddart who formed the Canadian-Australian Steamship Co. in 1893. This company was wound up in 1898 and others took over the services. The Canadian-Australasian Line Ltd was formed jointly by the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand and Canadian Pacific in 1931. The Union Steam Ship Co. remained as managers. Services ceased in 1941 and recommenced from 1948 until 1953 when the company was wound up.

Jarig Bakker, 8 August 2004