Cheerio used the Maple leaf on many of their products, and it became their company symbol. It was a natural progression to make a Maple Leaf shaped award patch.
There are several variations of design, size, and shape in the maple leaf patches. But all consist of a thick, red felt backing with embroidered letters, designs, and borders. The backing tended to fade in color with time and exposure. So it is difficult to find them with original red.
It is a 3 Star variety, with little fading. Notice the three blue stars at the top. The number of stars may have significance. Perhaps contest level or contest number.