The Department of Canadian Heritage lays out protocol guidelines for the display of flags, including an order of precedence; these instructions are only conventional, however, and are generally intended to show respect for what are considered important symbols of the state or institutions. The sovereign's personal standard is supreme in the order of precedence, followed by those for the monarch's representatives (depending on jurisdiction), the personal flags of other members of the Royal Family, and then the national flag and provincial flags.

Many museums across Canada display historic flags in their exhibits. The Canadian Museum of History, in Hull, Quebec has many culturally important flags in their collections. Settlers, Rails & Trails Inc., in Argyle, Manitoba holds the second largest exhibit - known as the Canadian Flag Collection.

The following is a list of flags proposed for the Canadian state.