Photo: Eric Bégin (first two), pverdonk, [Andrew Johnson (last two)](http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=coast guard&w=12734977%40N00) Except for a few old paint jobs, all Canadian Coast Guard vessels display this livery:

“…a red hull and white superstructure, designed to look like a “floating Canadian flag”. Their hulls bear a (primarily) white stripe raked forward at a 60 degree angle on each side forward. Larger vessels display a red maple leaf on the funnel… Vessels carry the “Canada” ‘federal wordmark’, which incorporates the duotone version of the national flag. The words Coast Guard Garde Cotière appear side by side on the hull.” – Wikipedia

The angled stripe is a symbol used by many coast guards around the world. But, according to Wikipedia, these motifs all spring from the US Coast Guards “Racing Stripe” introduced by Raymond Lowey Associates in 1964. (It wouldn’t surprise me if this were the case, though I haven’t found any references to support it yet.) Still, the Canadian livery stands out for its clean simplicity and the consistency of its application.