A new Canadian military logo, widely ridiculed online for resembling a bear having sex with a moose, was given the green light by the military’s top brass without a single objection, leaked documents show.
The pixelated maple leaf design was approved in March 2024 and unveiled in May, but was met with a storm of criticism.
National Defense claims the logo is a direct representation of the military’s new camouflage pattern. It consists of brown pixels arranged to form a maple leaf, taken directly from the pattern itself.
Social media was met with ridicule, with the logo being compared to everything from a mountain of feces to Minecraft images.
Online critics were fiercely opposed to the new army logo, with some even protesting vehemently, claiming it replaced the official emblem.
A new Canadian military logo that was widely ridiculed online for resembling a bear having sex with a moose was given the green light by top military brass without a single objection, leaked documents show
National Defense claims the logo is a direct representation of the military’s new camouflage pattern. It consists of brown pixels arranged to form a maple leaf, taken directly from the pattern itself.
In the face of public backlash, the Canadian Forces did apologize for the confusion, but they still defended the logo, claiming it was a complementary design, not a replacement for the official emblem.
But internal documents obtained by Citizen of Ottawa reveal a carefully planned and executed initiative, approved by the Deputy Army Commander and the highest leadership.
The new logo was approved by the Deputy Commander of the Army on March 21, 2024.
The design was further reviewed at a public meeting before being finally approved by the military’s top brass on April 12. Remarkably, no concerns were raised about the design at any stage of the process.
However, internal documents contained strict guidelines for its use, for example, inexplicably, it was forbidden to flip the logo horizontally or vertically.
Amidst all the commotion, questions have been raised about the origins and approval of the logo, with some even calling for the responsible parties to be fired.
While opposition parties accused the Liberal government of imposing the design, leaked documents show it was an internal military project.
Despite the controversy, the Canadian Forces confirmed that the logo continues to be used in various internal and external applications.
Defense spokesman Alex Tétreault told the Ottawa resident that the new logo is in use.
“The icon design will be featured in the lower left corner of various internal and external products and presentations,” he explained in an email to the Ottawa Citizen. “It will also be used in video animation and content generated for social media.
Social media was met with ridicule, with the logo being compared to everything from a mountain of feces to Minecraft images.
In the face of public backlash, the Canadian Forces did apologize for the confusion, but they still defended the logo, claiming it was a complementary design, not a replacement for the official emblem.
The logo was part of a broader rebranding effort by the Army aimed at “gaining and maintaining credibility,” according to the service’s May public affairs strategy, drafted by then-commander Lt. Gen. Jocelyn Paul.
According to Tétreault, the military chose not to conduct a post-mortem analysis to assess the rollout or understand the reasons behind the negative reactions.
While it is acknowledged that the logo was developed in-house at no additional cost to the taxpayer, Boudreau claimed the whole initiative was a failure.
“If we do not apply the lessons learned from these types of initiatives to understand the positive and negative aspects, we are abdicating our professional responsibility and failing as leaders to oversee the communications function,” Boudreau said.
‘In the future, it is in fact a guarantee that similar companies will repeat themselves with poor processes, decisions, planning and results.’
