The Globe and Mail: The Norway maple is a bully, and shouldn’t be confused with the sugar maple tree This article in Saturday, June 27, 2020 edition of the Globe and Mail, begins with a nice visual depiction of the leaves of the two trees and how they have been used to represent Canada.
There was also this controversy on the maple leaf that is on the $20 bill issued in 2013. Wikipedia lists it in a section entitled "Myths".
Good thread and article, not sure about the bully part, but the headline of the The Globe and Mail does grab your attention. 'Misinformation', now where have I heard that recently !!!!!
I'd read that the Canadian maple leaf symbol was deliberately designed not to be an individual identifiable species, so there couldn't be favouritism between maples from different provinces. Just a general Acer leaf, not BC's Acer macrophyllum, not Alberta's Acer glabrum, not Manitoba's Acer negundo, not Ontario's Acer saccharum, not Quebec's Acer pensylvanicum, not Newfoundland's Acer spicatum, and so on.
Oh, so that's why so many people here use the Norway maple leaf in their logos - not only to not single out one of the provinces but to include an immigrant!