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You can edit the text in this area, and change where the contact form on the right submits to, by entering edit mode using the modes on the bottom right.

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Le armoirie de Ecole

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Le armoirie de rose

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Le amoirie de hiver

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Le armoirie de Noel

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English to French, Italian, German & Spanish Dictionary - WordReference.com

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le pays du syria

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le pays du l'egypt

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le pays du barbados

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le pays du leichtenstein

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le pays du monaco

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le pays du l'america

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le pays du l'america

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le pays du saint lucia

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LA UNIVERSITY A TRÉS BIEN PIZZA

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le pays du finland

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le pays du germany

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le famille de Bordato

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Le famille de Fazekas

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WINDSOR A TRÉS BIEN MCDONALDS

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Le famille de Weiland

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W

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le pays du canada

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Le pays de Mexiuqe

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la pays d'iraq

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October 28, 2022

OTTAWA, Ontario-The Office of the Secretary to the Governor General is pleased to present the coat of arms of Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada.

The coat of arms reflects the Governor General's life story, highlighting her Inuit culture, her deep connection to the North, her love of family, as well as her distinguished career as a Canadian diplomat, expert in circumpolar affairs and her dedication as an Inuit leader.

A key component of the coat of arms is the Governor General's commitment to reconciliation and her desire to foster a respectful and collaborative relationship between Indigenous peoples and all Canadians.

The coat of arms incorporates her motto, Ajuinnata, which means "to persevere" or "never give up" in her mother tongue, Inuktitut. This motto inspires her own journey and embodies her message of hope to young people and to all Canadians confronted with adversity.
Quotes
"This coat of arms is my story, my true history, and it speaks of my lifelong commitment to bridge-building and family, and of my hopes for a future where we respect and share each other's stories to help foster better relationships between peoples."
Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada
"Her Excellency's coat of arms is simple in its composition and, at the same time, exquisitely complex in its meaning. It is a personal emblem that serves a public purpose. It exemplifies how heraldry can express many layers of a person's identity in a structured yet creative way. The inspirational story these arms tell enriches Canadian heraldry and perpetuates this living tradition."
Dr. Samy Khalid, Chief Herald of Canada Quick Facts

The coats of arms of governors general appear on official documents and artefacts such as their privy seals and academic medals. The privy seal is a device used in conjunction with the signature of the governor general to give formal approval to certain classes of documents (e.g. commissions of officers in the Canadian Armed Forces).

The design of Her Excellency's personal coat of arms is the result of a year-long collaborative process between the Governor General and Dr. Samy Khalid, Chief Herald of Canada.

The painting was produced by Cathy Sabourin, Fraser Herald, of the Canadian Heraldic Authority. The calligraphy is the work of Doris Wionzek.

The governor general is the head of the Canadian Heraldic Authority, which is the federal service responsible for creating and registering coats of arms, flags and badges. It was established as part of the Office of the Secretary to the Governor General in 1988.

The Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges of Canada contains the heraldic emblems that have been granted, registered, approved or confirmed by the Canadian Heraldic Authority.

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The Governor General's coat of arms, inspired by her heritage and commitment to reconciliation

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October 28, 2022 OTTAWA, Ontario-The Office of the Secretary to the Governor General is pleased to present the coat of arms of Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada.

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L'explication du blason de David Johnston

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L'explication du blason de Michaëlle Jean

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Carte d'activités- D'où vient notre drapeau

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Contexte : les premiers drapeaux nationaux

Au temps de la Nouvelle-France (de 1534 aux années 1760), deux drapeaux revêtent un caractère national. Le premier est la bannière de France ― un drapeau carré bleu affichant trois fleurs de lys dorées. Ce dernier flotte sur les fortifications durant les premières années de la colonie, notamment sur le logis de Pierre Du Gua de Monts à l' île Sainte-Croix en 1604 et possiblement sur l'habitation de Samuel de Champlain en 1608. Par la suite, on arbore le pavillon entièrement blanc de la marine royale française sur des bateaux, des forts et parfois lors des cérémonies de prise de possession de nouveaux territoires. Tôt au XVIIe siècle, les habitants de la colonie perçoivent ce pavillon comme étant l'emblème de la nation française et, par conséquent, leur propre drapeau national.

Le Red Ensign

Le Red Ensign, pavillon de la marine marchande britannique, flotte sur les forts et canots des compagnies de fourrures, en y ajoutant les lettres HBC pour la Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson et N.W. Co. pour la Compagnie du Nord-Ouest. Le drapeau royal de l'Union britannique (généralement surnommé Union Jack) est parfois présent aussi sur les forts de ces compagnies ( voir aussi :Postes de traite). Après 1759, les deux mêmes drapeaux apparaissent sur les forts militaires.

(Par Ec.Domnowall, Wikimedia Commons)

Vers 1870, le Canada commence à arborer le Red Ensign comme son drapeau national. Il contient les armes des quatre premières provinces à former la Confédération dans un seul écu, le plus souvent en plaçant la couronne royale au-dessus de l'écu, un castor au-dessous et des branches d'érable de chaque côté. (Lorsque de nouvelles provinces se joignent à la Confédération, leurs emblèmes viennent s'ajouter à l'écu. Cela fait en sorte que le drapeau devient difficile à reconnaître, particulièrement en mer.) En 1892, un décret de l'Amirauté britannique autorise l'usage du Red Ensign sur les navires marchands enregistrés au Canada, mais avec seulement les quatre provinces originales dans l'écu. À la même époque, le drapeau de l'Union est arboré aussi sur terre, surtout après 1904 lorsqu'il remplace le Red Ensign canadien au mât de la Tour de la Paix sur la Colline du Parlement.

En 1945, on autorise le Red Ensign, portant l'écu assigné au Canada en 1921, à flotter sur les édifices fédéraux au Canada et à l'étranger, jusqu'à l'adoption d'un drapeau national officiel.

Image: CC Wikimedia Commons.fr.

L'adoption d'un drapeau national

La première tentative du gouvernement pour doter le Canada d'un drapeau survient en 1925. Le premier ministre William Lyon Mackenzie King met en effet sur pied un comité chargé d'étudier la question. Il fait toutefois marche arrière dès qu'il constate l'indignation générale chez ceux qui voit le règne de l' Union Jack menacé. Il effectue une deuxième tentative en 1945 en confiant cette question à un comité mixte du Sénat et de la Chambre des communes, mais l'engouement pour l'Union Jack persiste particulièrement au sein de l' Ordre d'Orange. Lorsque le rapport du comité parvient à King, il met fin au projet en prétextant un manque d'unanimité.

Le public soumet quelque 2 409 motifs au Comité du drapeau national, dont 1 611 font apparaître des feuilles d'érable, 383 le drapeau de l'Union, 231 des étoiles, 184 des fleurs de lys, 116 des castors, 49 des couronnes et 22 des croix.

Fortescue Duguid, directeur de la Section historique de l' Armée canadienne, est l'un des spécialistes de marque à comparaître devant le comité en 1945. Il fait valoir l'idée que rouge et blanc sont les couleurs nationales représentées dans les armories assignées au Canada par le roi George V en 1921. Il rappelle aussi que le pays possède déjà un emblème: le rameau d'érable à trois feuilles sur fond blanc dans le bas de l'écu du Canada.

Le grand débat sur le drapeau

Lester B. Pearson, comme chef de l'opposition officielle, soulève à nouveau la question du drapeau en 1960. À l'époque, l'unité nationale est menacée par la montée du mouvement séparatiste au Québec. La notion que le Red Ensign canadien a le statut de drapeau national est répandue et l'attachement à l' Union Jack persiste. Depuis 1948, Québec perçoit son drapeau provincial, le fleurdelisé, comme étant son emblème national.

En 1964, l'artiste et conseiller héraldique Alan B. Beddoe présente à Pearson un dessin composé de trois feuilles d'érable rouges sur un fond blanc, flanquées de deux bandes verticales bleues. Le message simple " le Canada d'un océan à l'autre " semble plaire à Pearson qui introduit ce drapeau au Parlement en juin 1964.

Tous les partis reconnaissent que le Canada doit se doter d'un drapeau, mais ne s'entendent pas sur sa conception. Les députés francophones s'intéressent vivement à ce débat qui soulève tant d'acrimonie chez les Canadiens anglophones. John Diefenbaker exige un emblème qui rende hommage aux " peuples fondateurs " et affiche l'Union Jack. Pearson, pour sa part, veut un modèle libre d'allusions coloniales et marquant l'allégeance au Canada. Le choix de Pearson, surnommé " fanion de Pearson " [Pearson Pennant], devient la cible des journalistes et des caricaturistes politiques et est perçu comme étant une concession au Québec.

Constatant qu'il ne réussira pas à faire adopter son drapeau par le Parlement, Pearson nomme, en septembre 1964, un comité formé de représentants de tous les partis : sept libéraux, cinq conservateurs, un néo-démocrate, un membre du Crédit social et un créditiste. Le comité dispose de six semaines pour arriver à un motif final. John Diefenbaker est ravi de cette tournure, étant convaincu qu'une formule aussi complexe sonnera le glas du trifolié de Pearson. Il se dit prêt à accepter le vote du comité, pourvu qu'il s'agisse d'une majorité nette ― 13 des 15 membres par exemple.

Motif proposé pour le nouveau drapeau canadien. Il comprend trois feuilles d'érable.

Duncan Cameron/Bibliothèque et Archives Canada/K-0000067

Herman Batten, député de Terre-Neuve, assure la présidence du comité alors que John Matheson, député d' Ontario, y joue un rôle actif comme bras droit de Pearson. À nouveau, A. Fortescue Duguid témoigne longuement, mais son point de vue demeure essentiellement le même qu'en 1945. Certains membres du comité estiment que les trois feuilles qu'il veut promouvoir s'éloignent de l'idée d'unité. Les vues présentées au comité par les historiens Arthur Lower et Marcel Trudel sont diamétralement opposées. Le premier favorise un nouvel emblème spécifiquement canadien, préférablement la feuille d'érable, alors que le dernier préconise un drapeau meublé des symboles des peuples fondateurs, ce qui existe déjà dans les armoiries du Canada assignées en 1921. Il considère que la feuille d'érable n'a pas une grande importance comme symbole, un point de vue qui rejoint celui de Diefenbaker. Le peintre A. Y. Jackson du Groupe des Sept témoigne aussi et propose quelques dessins.

Durant six semaines le comité se rencontre 35 fois et examine des milliers de propositions provenant du public. Selon Bibliothèque et Archives Canada, le public soumet quelque 2 000 dessins en 1964. " Un comité directeur les examine, en plus de 3 900 autres dessins accumulés par le Secrétariat d'État ou issus des travaux menés par un comité parlementaire en 1945-1946. "

Trois candidats demeurent après un processus d'élimination : le fanion de Pearson, le drapeau actuel avec une feuille différemment stylisée et le même drapeau orné de l'Union Jack dans la partie supérieure de la bande rouge gauche et de la bannière de France sur l'autre bande. Le vote final porte sur le fanion de Pearson conçu par Alan Beddoe et l'unifolié conçu surtout par George Stanley et inspiré par le drapeau du Collège militaire royal du Canada.

À l'heure du vote le 22 octobre 1964, les conservateurs votent pour l'unifolié, croyant que les libéraux du comité voteront naturellement en faveur du fanion de Pearson. Mais les Libéraux votent aussi pour l'unifolié et non pour le drapeau préféré du premier ministre. Il en résulte un vote unanime de 14 à 0 (le président du comité ne votant pas).

Un débat épuisant se poursuit en Chambre pendant six longues semaines et comporte 308 discours ( voir aussi : Débat sur le drapeau). Léon Balcer, un député conservateur influent du Québec, invite les Libéraux à recourir à la clôture en limitant les discours à 20 minutes et en exigeant un vote. Le 15 décembre 1964, à deux heures du matin, le choix du comité est entériné par un vote de 163 contre 78. Le Sénat l'approuve le 17 décembre et la reine Elizabeth II signe la proclamation royale le 28 janvier 1965. Le 15 février 1965, le Red Ensign canadien est abaissé et le drapeau national déployé lors d'une cérémonie officielle sur la Colline du Parlement.

Conception

George Stanley, doyen de la faculté des arts au Collège militaire royal du Canada, se démarque comme le principal concepteur du drapeau du Canada. Deux croquis figurent sur une lettre qu'il adresse à John Matheson le 23 mars 1964. L'un est divisé en trois bandes verticales rouge, blanc, rouge de largeurs égales et porte au centre une feuille d'érable rouge. L'autre est divisé horizontalement dans les mêmes couleurs et proportions et porte au centre trois feuilles d'érable sur une tige. Comme A. Fortescue Duguid, George Stanley affirme que le rouge et le blanc sont les couleurs du Canada. Il favorise une seule feuille d'érable bien stylisée, un symbole nettement canadien qui évoque l'idée d'unité. Il préconise la simplicité et les symboles traditionnels et recommande d'éviter les emblèmes d'autres pays comme le drapeau de l'Union et les fleurs de lis. Pour lui, le Red Ensign n'est pas approprié parce que trop compliqué et difficile à reconnaître. La lettre de George Stanley à John Matheson trace la route vers un drapeau national, mais sa vision exigera encore un long cheminement intellectuel et politique.

John Matheson ne rejette pas la proposition de George Stanley, bien qu'elle ne le satisfasse pas entièrement. Un dessin provenant de George Bist, un ancien combattant, ressemble beaucoup à celui d'Alan Beddoe, sauf qu'il arbore au centre une seule feuille d'érable sur un carré, ce qui donne l'espace requis pour agrandir la feuille. John Matheson intègre le carré de George Bist au dessin de George Stanley et le place en douce parmi les autres propositions.

Motif choisi pour le drapeau officiel du Canada en 1965.

Le comité reçoit 5 900 propositions. Comme en 1945-1946, on voit se multiplier castors, feuilles d'érable, Union Jack, fleurs de lys, lions, étoiles, y compris l'étoile Polaire, des symboles religieux et diverses croix et rayures. A. J. Casson du Groupe des Sept soumet un drapeau bleu portant un rameau de trois feuilles d'érable rouges lisérées de blanc. Aucune de ces compositions ne semble commander le respect dû à un drapeau national.

Le drapeau du Canada comporte un aspect unique, un carré blanc au centre pour lequel il n'existe pas de terme héraldique dans le vocabulaire d'alors. Conrad Swan, un officier d'armes canadien au Collège des hérauts d'Angleterre, brise l'impasse en proposant de le nommer " pal canadien " du fait qu'il est deux fois la largeur d'un pal ordinaire (une bande verticale qui occupe un tiers de la surface de l'écu). Depuis, cette expression fait partie de la langue du blason ( voir :Héraldique). La stylisation de la feuille d'érable exige un travail graphique soigné qui la rend également unique.

La feuille originale stylisée par Alan Beddoe, l'artiste du comité, comprend 13 pointes. John Matheson étudie le comportement d'un modèle d'une feuille de l'érable à sucre qu'il fait ballotter dans le vent du tunnel aérodynamique du laboratoire du Conseil national de recherches. Finalement, il choisit une feuille à 11 pointes et supervise sa stylisation par Jacques Saint-Cyr, graphiste à la Commission des expositions du gouvernement canadien. La précision du travail est telle que lorsque les proportions et la forme de la feuille ne sont pas respectées, le drapeau perd beaucoup de sa beauté et de son impact visuel. Vu ses talents de couturière, Joan O'Malley se charge de créer un prototype en tissu pour présentation au premier ministre. Yvonne Diceman, artiste et calligraphe, prépare le texte enluminé de la proclamation royale sur vélin (peau de veau) que lui procure Alan Beddoe.

Depuis le début du 19 e siècle, la feuille d'érable est reconnue comme emblème canadien par les anglophones et les francophones. Elle est célébrée dans la poésie, la chanson, les monnaies, les médailles et les drapeaux, ainsi que dans l'imagerie populaire comme les cartes postales. Avec le drapeau, la feuille d'érable devient l'emblème de tous les Canadiens. Elle a sans doute aussi contribué à renforcer la fleur de lys comme emblème national des francophones du Québec et d'ailleurs ( voir aussi :Drapeau franco-ontarien).

Jour du drapeau national du Canada

En 1996, le 15 février est déclaré Jour du drapeau national du Canada. Cette date commémore le jour du déploiement du drapeau sur la Colline du Parlement. On célèbre cette journée de plusieurs façons à la grandeur du pays, même si ce n'est pas un jour férié national.

( Voir aussi : Le drapeau canadien : typiquement nôtre; Le drapeau de George Stanley; Drapeau du Canada : autres motifs ; Débat sur le drapeau)

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Au temps de la Nouvelle-France (de 1534 aux années 1760), deux drapeaux revêtent un caractère national. Le premier est la bannière de France ― un drapeau carré bleu affichant trois fleurs de lys dorées.

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Les emblèmes du Canada comprennent les armoiries et le drapeau national. En 1497, lorsque John Cabot arrive sur les côtes de l’Amérique du Nord, il plante ...

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Former governor general Michaelle Jean on the future of the Commonwealth

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Former governor general Michaelle Jean says King Charles III must show dedication to the public as the monarchy approaches a crossroads.

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En juin 2014, le premier ministre du Canada Stephen Harper avait donné son appui officiel à la candidature de Michaëlle Jean. Cette annonce est bientôt suivie du soutien des gouvernements du Québec et du Nouveau-Brunswick. Les Chefs d'État et de gouvernement réunis à Dakar dans le cadre du XVe Sommet de la Francophonie ont désigné Michaëlle Jean au poste de Secrétaire générale de la Francophonie les 29 et 30 novembre 2014. Pour la première fois, l'Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) sera dirigée par une femme.

Son mandat est de quatre ans.

Le plaidoyer intégral de Michaëlle Jean pour la Francophonie, publié en 2014, a précisé les contours de sa vision et de son engagement sur les thèmes suivants :

Croissance, prospérité et stratégie économique pour la Francophonie;

Éthique du partage, développement durable et solidarité;

La force de la Francophonie et son potentiel;

Les femmes et les jeunes, indissociables d'une stratégie économique et d'une culture de la paix;

La langue française, socle de la Francophonie;

La Francophonie de l'innovation et du numérique;

La Francophonie dans le monde;

L'Afrique et l'avenir de la Francophonie;

L'impulsion, la direction et le sens pour l'OIF.

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Secrétaire générale de la Francophonie - Michaëlle Jean

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En juin 2014, le premier ministre du Canada Stephen Harper avait donné son appui officiel à la candidature de Michaëlle Jean. Cette annonce est bientôt suivie du soutien des gouvernements du Québec et du Nouveau-Brunswick.

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Jeunesse et formation

Adrienne Clarkson naît à Hong Kong en 1939. Elle est la fille d'Ethel et William Poy, un important homme d'affaires qui a perdu ses propriétés après l'invasion de Hong Kong par les Japonais en 1941. Elle arrive au Canada avec ses parents et son frère plus âgé, Neville, en tant que réfugiés en 1942. À l'époque, la Loi de l'immigration chinoise exclut l'entrée de pratiquement tous les immigrants chinois. Cependant, le fait que William Poy travaille à la Commission commerciale canadienne à Hong Kong l'aide, semble-t-il, à amener sa famille au Canada en vertu de " circonstances exceptionnelles " accordées par le gouvernement.

" Nous sommes arrivés avec une valise chacun et rien d'autre ", dit Adrienne Clarkson en 2002 dans un discours au Joint Refugee Committee à Red Deer, Alberta. " J'ai eu beaucoup de chance que ma famille n'ait jamais considéré avoir perdu quoi que ce soit ayant une valeur réelle. Nous n'avions perdu que des biens matériels... Nous n'avions pas perdu ce à quoi nous croyions vraiment, en tant qu'êtres humains. "

La famille d'Adrienne s'installe à Ottawa, Ontario, où elle grandit et fréquente l'école publique. Elle étudie à l' Université de Toronto, où elle obtient un baccalauréat spécialisé en 1960 et une maîtrise en littérature anglaise en 1962. De 1962 à 1964, elle étudie à la Sorbonne, à Paris, France, ce qui lui permet, dit-elle, de devenir " vraiment bilingue ".

Début de carrière

En 1965, Adrienne Clarkson entreprend une carrière d'animatrice, d'intervieweuse de télévision, d'auteure et de productrice pour CBC qui se poursuivra pendant 18 ans et lui méritera de nombreux prix. Elle est critique littéraire pour l'émission Take Thirty, où elle devient rapidement co-animatrice. Cette promotion fait d'elle la première Canadienne de couleur à animer un programme national. Elle y demeure pendant 10 ans, et durant cette période elle écrit aussi pour beaucoup de publications nationales canadiennes, dont les magazines Châtelaine et . Adrienne Clarkson publie aussi deux romans chez McClelland & Stewart : A Lover More Condoling (1968) et Hunger Trace (1970), ainsi qu'une collection d'interviews sur les thèmes du mariage et du divorce, True to You In My Fashion : A Woman Talks to Men About Marriage (1971), chez New Press.

En 1974-1975, elle anime quelque temps sa propre émission d'actualité, Adrienne at Large, qui est diffusée pendant moins de quatre mois. Un an plus tard, elle quitte Take Thirty et contribue au lancement de la nouvelle émission de CBC the fifth estate, une émission d'actualité modelée sur le célèbre 60 Minutes de CBS et Panorama de BBC. Adrienne Clarkson travaille comme co-animatrice et journaliste pour l'émission. Parmi ses plus grands reportages, on trouve une enquête sur le financement des Jeux olympiques de 1976 à Montréal, une entrevue avec le chah d'Iran et un reportage sur les pratiques alimentaires de la compagnie McCain.

Selon un portrait de Clarkson dans Maclean's ( voir Adrienne Clarkson nommée gouverneure Générale), son reportage sur McCain a irrité la sénatrice Josie Quart, qui a accusé Adrienne Clarkson de dénigrer " les Canadiens qui ont eu du succès " et de n'avoir pas été citoyenne canadienne naturalisée pendant la plus grande partie de sa vie, bien que sa famille ait obtenu la citoyenneté en 1949. Josie Quart a plus tard présenté ses excuses.

Comme intervieweuse, Adrienne Clarkson est reconnue pour son habileté à obtenir des réponses franches et éclairantes des personnes rencontrées. " [Elle] avait, dit Ron Haggart, un producteur de the fifth estate, l'art de mettre les gens à l'aise, de sorte qu'ils en disaient probablement plus que ce qu'ils croyaient dire [...] Cela inclut son habileté à savoir quand garder silence. "

Adrienne Clarkson quitte the fifth estate en 1982 et est nommée par le premier ministre Bill Davis premier agent général de l' Ontario à Paris. À ce poste, elle promeut les intérêts commerciaux et culturels de l'Ontario en France, en Italie et en Espagne pendant cinq ans. À son retour au Canada, en 1987, elle devient présidente de McClelland & Stewart, où elle demeure jusqu'en 1989. En 1988, elle revient à la télévision en tant que productrice exécutive et animatrice de l'émission culturelle nationale de CBC Adrienne Clarkson's Summer Festival.

En 1995, elle est nommée présidente du conseil d'administration du Musée canadien des civilisations (aujourd'hui Musée canadien de l'histoire).

Gouverneure générale

En septembre 1999, la reine Elizabeth II nomme Adrienne Clarkson gouverneure générale selon la recommandation du premier ministre Jean Chrétien. Elle entre en fonction le 7 octobre 1999, devenant la 26 e gouverneure générale du Canada. Elle devient la première personne de couleur, la première personne d'origine asiatique et la première personne sans expérience politique ou militaire à être nommée à la charge vice-royale ( voir aussi Couronne). Elle est la deuxième femme nommée à ce rôle, après Jeanne Sauvé (1984-1990).

Adrienne Clarkson est étroitement surveillée par les députés et le public canadien relativement à des allégations de dépenses excessives durant son mandat. Une visite d'État de 2003 en Russie, en Finlande et en Islande, au coût de cinq millions de dollars, provoque une grande colère. Les fonctionnaires d'Adrienne Clarkson sont interrogés par un comité d'enquête de la Chambre des communes, avec pour résultat une réduction de son budget ( voir Comités). D'autres affirment que la tournée de 19 jours dans les pays du Nord circumpolaire, avec 59 autres dignitaires canadiens, a été un succès remarquable, permettant au Canada d'établir des relations fructueuses avec les pays du nord de l'Europe.

Le dévouement d'Adrienne Clarkson à son rôle vice-royal est aussi mis en doute à la suite de son absence remarquée d'importants événements nationaux, comme les funérailles de l'ancien lieutenant-gouverneur de l' Alberta, Lois Hole.

Le mandat d'Adrienne Clarkson est marqué par de nombreuses réussites. Elle demeure une fervente protectrice des arts et se déplace pour soutenir les troupes au Kosovo et en Afghanistan. Son discours à la cérémonie d'enterrement du soldat inconnu canadien, le 28 mai 2000, est un hommage émouvant très apprécié par les vétérans. Adrienne Clarkson affirme son intention d'établir de meilleurs liens entre le Canada et les peuples autochtones du Nord durant son mandat de gouverneur général. Elle crée la Médaille du Gouverneur général pour la nordicité, attribuée chaque année à un citoyen du Nord dont le travail a contribué à faire reconnaître l'importance du Nord canadien dans l' identité nationale. Elle a aussi voyagé dans tout le Canada, peut-être plus que tout autre gouverneur général, visitant son peuple et ajoutant un esprit de modernité à la fonction vice-royale.

Bien que le mandat d'Adrienne Clarkson se soit terminé en 2004, le premier ministre Paul Martin lui demande de rester en poste une année de plus, croyant que la continuité du rôle vice-royal offrira aux Canadiens un sentiment de stabilité face à l'insécurité d'un gouvernement minoritaire.

Le 8 juillet 2005, Adrienne Clarkson est admise à l'hôpital pour des problèmes de cœur et se fait implanter un stimulateur cardiaque quelques jours plus tard. Elle se remet rapidement et est de retour à ses activités prévues plus tard dans le mois. Elle reste gouverneure générale jusqu'au 27 septembre 2005, quand lui succède la militante sociale et journaliste Michaëlle Jean.

Vision de la fonction vice-royale

En 2006, Adrienne Clarkson publie son autobiographie, Heart Matters, qui devient un bestseller. Dans ce livre, elle écrit que " beaucoup de politiciens ne semblent pas savoir que l'autorité finale de l'État a été transférée du monarque au gouverneur général par les Lettres patentes de 1947, rendant par le fait même le gouvernement du Canada indépendant de la Grande-Bretagne ". Elle ajoute que " le gouverneur général est le chef de l'État au Canada, et est traité comme tel quand il est à l'étranger ". Cette interprétation des lettres patentes et cette prétention d'être chef de l'État lui attirent des critiques, et contredisent les avis de plusieurs constitutionnalistes et monarchistes. Bien que les lettres patentes donnent au gouverneur général l'autorité d'agir comme chef d'État aux plans domestique et international, elles ne changent rien au statut de chef d'État du monarque ( voir Monarchisme).

En 2009, Adrienne Clarkson propose que les nominations au poste de gouverneur général soient approuvées par le Parlement dans un processus public, qui pourrait inclure des audiences télévisées. " Ils sont la personnification de la nation, et je crois que la nation doit voir par qui elle sera personnifiée ", déclare-t-elle au Globe and Mail. Adrienne Clarkson affirme aussi qu'elle considère que son rôle de gouverneur général inclut l'éducation des citoyens à la démocratie parlementaire canadienne.

Vie et carrière après le mandat de gouverneure générale

En 2005, Adrienne Clarkson et son mari, John Ralston Saul, cofondent l'Institut pour la citoyenneté canadienne, qui a pour objectif d'accélérer l'intégration culturelle de nouveaux citoyens dans la société canadienne ( voir citoyenneté).

En 2007, Adrienne Clarkson est nommée colonel-en-chef de la Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. Aussi en 2007, elle s'engage dans le Centre mondial du pluralisme, une initiative internationale de l'Aga Khan et du gouvernement du Canada qui fait la promotion de la diversité dans le monde entier. Elle continue d'être présidente du comité exécutif et de siéger sur le comité d'administration, avec d'autres dignitaires comme Kofi Annan, Huguette Labelle et Eduardo Stein.

En 2009, Adrienne Clarkson publie une biographie de Norman Bethune dans le cadre de la série Extraordinary Canadians de Penguin Canada, dirigée par John Saul. La même année, elle crée la Coupe Clarkson, le trophée du championnat de la Ligue canadienne de hockey semi-professionnel féminin, où jouent beaucoup des membres de l' équipe olympique de hockey. La coupe se trouve dans le Temple de la renommée du hockey, à Toronto.

En 2011, Adrienne Clarkson publie Room for Us All, un recueil d'articles sur l'expérience des immigrants au Canada. En 2014, elle donne à la CBC une conférence Massey intitulée Belonging: The Paradox of Citizenship. Ses conférences Massey sont aussi publiées par House of Anansi.

Vie personnelle

Adrienne Clarkson épouse d'abord Stephen Clarkson, professeur d' économie politique à l' Université de Toronto de 1963 à 1975. Le couple a trois filles, dont l'une meurt du syndrome de mort subite du nourrisson. Après le divorce du couple, Stephen Clarkson reçoit la garde de leurs filles. En 1999, Adrienne Clarkson épouse le philosophe et romancier John Ralston Saul, son compagnon depuis 15 ans. Elle a quatre petits-enfants.

Honneurs

Adrienne Clarkson a reçu de nombreux prix et reconnaissances dans sa carrière à la télévision et son mandat de gouverneure générale. Elle a aussi reçu 32 doctorats honorifiques d'universités, dont l' Université d'Ottawa, l' Université de l'Île-du-Prince-Édouard, l' Université Queen's, l' Université Acadia, l' Université Dalhousie, l' Université Lakehead et l' Université Western. Elle est membre honoraire du Collège royal des médecins et chirurgiens du Canada, du Collège Trinity à l'Université de Toronto, de l'Institut royal d'architecture du Canada et de la Société royale du Canada.

Prix

Meilleure communicatrice d'affaires publiques, ACTRA (1974)

Prix Gordon-Sinclair pour franchise et intégrité en télédiffusion, ACTRA (1976)

Meilleur auteure de documentaires pour la télévision, ACTRA (1977)

Meilleure animatrice-intervieweuse de télévision, ACTRA (1982)

Officier, Ordre du Canada (1992)

Meilleur animatrice dans une émission ou série d'information légère, de variété ou d'arts du spectacle, Gemini Awards (1993)

Prix Anik pour meilleure série de divertissement, CBC (1993)

Meilleur Spécial des arts de la scène, Prix Gémeaux (1995)

Chancelière et Compagnon principal de l'Ordre du Canada (1999)

Compagnon, Ordre du Canada (2005)

Chancelière, commandeur, Ordre du mérite des corps policiers (1999)

Chancelière, commandeur, Ordre du mérite militaire, (1999)

Membre, Conseil privé de la Reine pour le Canada (2005)

Ordre de l'Amitié, Fédération de Russie (2006)

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Adrienne Clarkson naît à Hong Kong en 1939. Elle est la fille d'Ethel et William Poy, un important homme d'affaires qui a perdu ses propriétés après l'invasion de Hong Kong par les Japonais en 1941. Elle arrive au Canada avec ses parents et son frère plus âgé, Neville, en tant que réfugiés en 1942.

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Enfance, formation et hockey

Fils d'un propriétaire de quincaillerie, David Johnston naît à Copper Cliff, en Ontario, une ville minière située en périphérie de Sudbury, et grandit à Sault Ste. Marie, en Ontario. En 1959, il obtient une bourse pour étudier à l'Université Harvard où il est défenseur dans l'équipe de hockey. Bien que de courte stature, il se fait connaître pour sa détermination et sa compétitivité. Comme un coéquipier se rappelle, " David aurait saisi la rondelle entre ses dents pour l'empêcher d'entrer dans le filet ". On lui décerne la coupe Memorial John Tudor à titre de joueur le plus utile à son équipe en 1962-1963 et fait partie deux fois de l'équipe de hockey All-American. En 1988, on intronise David Johnston au Temple de la renommée du Harvard Varsity Club (club universitaire de Harvard). À l'Université Harvard, il se lie d'amitié avec l'auteur Erich Segal. Dans son roman à succès Love Story paru en 1970, Erich Segal nomme le capitaine de l'équipe de hockey de Harvard Davey Johnston, en l'honneur du futur gouverneur général.

En 1963, David Johnston obtient son baccalauréat en relations gouvernementales et internationales. Il renonce à la possibilité de participer au camp d'essai des Bruins de Boston, car il ne se croit pas assez imposant ou solide pour jouer dans la Ligue nationale de hockey (LNH). Il opte plutôt pour l'étude du droit à l'Université de Cambridge et à l' Université Queen's. Il décroche un baccalauréat en droit des deux institutions.

Carrière académique

David Johnston a une longue et brillante carrière académique. Après avoir enseigné le droit à l'Université Queen's et à l' Université de Toronto, il devient le doyen de la faculté de droit de l' Université Western. À 37 ans, il devient le directeur de l' Université McGill. Il occupe ce poste de 1979 à 1994 et acquiert la réputation d'un administrateur énergique et d'un collecteur de fonds talentueux. En 1999, on le nomme président de l' Université de Waterloo, poste qu'il occupe jusqu'en 2010. Tout au long de sa carrière académique, David Johnston poursuit ses activités de chercheur et d'auteur, publiant de nombreux ouvrages sur le droit administratif, les règles de sécurité et le droit des technologies de l'information. Il reçoit des doctorats honorifiques de plus d'une douzaine d'universités.

David Johnston demeure très actif à l'extérieur du cadre académique. Il est modérateur lors des débats politiques télévisés dans le cadre des élections fédérales de 1979 et de 1984, ainsi que celui des élections provinciales québécoises de 1985 et ontariennes de 1987. Dans les années 1990, il anime deux émissions sur l'actualité, The Editors et The World in Review, présentées sur les ondes de CBC Newsworld au Canada et de PBS aux États-Unis. Il siège également au conseil d'administration de plusieurs grandes compagnies, dont Canada Trust, Seagram, Southam Inc. et Dominion Textiles.

Conseiller auprès du gouvernement

Les libéraux autant que les conservateurs font fréquemment appel à David Johnston, un homme diplomatique et discret, pour présider des comités chargés de proposer des recommandations sur des questions délicates, notamment la Table ronde nationale sur l'environnement et l'économie, le Comité consultatif sur l'autoroute de l'information, le Groupe de Travail National d'accès haute vitesse à large bande et le Groupe d'experts des collectivités branchées.

En 2007, le premier ministre Stephen Harper annonce la nomination de David Johnston a titre de conseiller spécial et lui demande d'élaborer les termes de référence pour une enquête publique sur les liens entre l'ancien premier ministre Brian Mulroney et l'homme d'affaires germano-canadien Karlheinz Schreiber. (Après la démission de son poste de premier ministre, Brian Mulroney accepte entre 225 000 $ et 300 000 $ en argent comptant de la part de Karlheinz Schreiber, un ancien lobbyiste pour Airbus.) David Johnston prend la décision controversée de recommander un cadre étroit pour ce qui est devenu la commission Oliphant. La commission analyse les paiements qu'a faits Karlheinz Schreiber à Brian Mulroney en 1993 et en 1994, mais pas l'achat d'avions Airbus par la société publique Air Canada alors que Brian Mulroney est premier ministre, car la GRC a déjà mené cette enquête.

Gouverneur général du Canada

David Johnston devient le 28 e gouverneur général du Canada le 8 juillet 2010, une nomination très bien accueillie. Il entre en poste le 1 er octobre 2010, et remplace Michaëlle Jean.

Cette dernière fait face à une controverse constitutionnelle quand elle proroge le parlement à la demande du premier ministre Stephen Harper qui souhaite éviter d'être défait aux Communes. Plusieurs commentateurs craignent que David Johnston rencontre les mêmes défis; au moment de son entrée en fonction, la Chambre des Communes est en proie à de fortes tensions, car aucun parti ne détient la majorité. On s'attend à ce que son expertise légale s'avère considérable, mais les prédictions ne se confirment pas : durant son mandat, David Johnston ne fait face à aucune crise constitutionnelle ou politique.

À titre de gouverneur général, David Johnston souhaite encourager " une nation plus intelligente et plus bienveillante ". Il rend hommage à ceux et celles qui donnent de leur temps à des causes honorables en créant la Médaille du souverain pour les bénévoles qui remplace le Prix du Gouverneur général pour l'entraide. Il met sur pied la Fondation Rideau Hall, une œuvre caritative qui soutient le bureau du gouverneur général dans ses efforts pour encourager le leadership, l'éducation, la philanthropie et l'innovation. David Johnston anime également le symposium annuel des prix Killam où des universitaires de premier plan discutent de questions importantes. David Johnston contribue à la création du programme de Bourses canadiennes du jubilé de diamant de la reine Elizabeth II qui vise à encourager les jeunes penseurs, entrepreneurs et chefs de file. Il incite également la population à développer un programme d'innovation, voyageant à l'étranger pour faire la promotion du Canada comme centre de recherche et d'innovation.

David Johnston cherche à sensibiliser le public aux problèmes des Autochtones et à renforcer la relation entre les peuples autochtones et la Couronne. Il rencontre les chefs des Premières Nations, les jeunes chefs de file autochtones et les protestataires du mouvement Idle No More (Jamais plus l'inaction) en plus d'animer la cérémonie de clôture de la Commission de vérité et de réconciliation du Canada de 2015.

Tout au long de son mandat, David Johnston s'assure de ne pas s'immiscer dans les affaires gouvernementales. En 2012, il refuse de rencontrer la chef de la Première Nation Attawapiskat, Theresa Spence, qui fait la grève de la faim jusqu'à ce que Stephen Harper accepte de se joindre à lui pour s'entretenir avec elle. Theresa Spence veut discuter de traités entre le Canada et les peuples autochtones, mais David Johnston explique publiquement que ces questions relèvent de la responsabilité des représentants élus.

En 2016, David Johnston publie The Idea of Canada: Letters to a Nation, un recueil à succès de lettres adressées à des citoyens canadiens. Les lettres traitent de divers sujets comme le hockey, l'éducation et l'innovation, et illustrent les intérêts très variés de David Johnston tout en ayant un thème central : la nature profonde du Canada.

Vie personnelle

La famille est au cœur de la vie de David Johnston. En 1964, il épouse Sharon Downey qu'il connaît depuis l'école primaire à Sault Ste. Marie. Les années suivantes, elle complète un doctorat en physiologie respiratoire, exploite une ferme équestre et écrit un roman. Le couple a cinq filles et plusieurs petits-enfants. En raison de l'amour de David Johnston pour la lecture, ses petits-enfants le surnomment " Grandpa Book " [Papi Bouquin].

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Fils d'un propriétaire de quincaillerie, David Johnston naît à Copper Cliff, en Ontario, une ville minière située en périphérie de Sudbury, et grandit à Sault Ste. Marie, en Ontario. En 1959, il obtient une bourse pour étudier à l'Université Harvard où il est défenseur dans l'équipe de hockey.

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Jeunesse et éducation

Michaëlle Jean passe son enfance dans un quartier de la classe moyenne de la capitale d'Haïti, Port-au-Prince, où son père est directeur d'école et professeur de philosophie dans un lycée protestant privé. Elle poursuit ses études à la maison parce que ses parents, Roger et Luce, ne veulent pas qu'elle fréquente l'école où elle devrait prêter serment d'allégeance au dictateur François " Papa Doc " Duvalier. En 1965, son père est arrêté et torturé. En 1967, il s'enfuit au Canada, et sa famille le rejoint l'année suivante.

La famille s'installe à Thetford Mines, une ville minière du Québec, où Roger enseigne au collège local. Plus tard, Michaëlle Jean se rappelle que son père est, à ce moment-là, un " homme brisé ", de plus en plus enclin à la violence. Le mariage de ses parents se désintègre, et elle déménage à Montréal avec sa mère et sa sœur. Elle y vit dans un logement situé dans le sous-sol d'un immeuble pendant que sa mère subvient à leurs besoins en travaillant d'abord dans une fabrique de vêtements, puis comme préposée aux soins de nuit dans un hôpital psychiatrique.

Michaëlle Jean étudie à l' Université de Montréal, où elle obtient un baccalauréat en langues et littératures hispaniques et italiennes. Elle y poursuit ses études supérieures en vue d'une maîtrise en littérature comparée, y enseigne l'italien et gagne des bourses d'études qui lui permettent de faire plusieurs voyages en Italie pour étudier dans les universités de Pérouse, de Florence et de Milan. Elle parle couramment cinq langues (le français, l'anglais, l'italien, l'espagnol et le créole haïtien). Parallèlement à ses études, elle se bat contre la violence familiale, travaille dans des refuges pour femmes victimes de violence conjugale et coordonne une étude subventionnée par le gouvernement sur les agressions sexuelles signalées par les femmes violentées par leur conjoint.

Éléments marquants de sa carrière

En 1986, Michaëlle Jean retourne en Haïti, en compagnie d'une amie, afin d'y effectuer une recherche pour un article sur les femmes de l'île. Les deux amies arrivent juste à temps pour être témoins de la destitution du dictateur Jean-Claude " Baby Doc " Duvalier, le fils du dictateur que sa famille a fui. Son travail attire l'attention d'un producteur de l' Office national du film, qui l'invite à retourner en Haïti en tant que recherchiste et intervieweuse pour un film sur les élections haïtiennes de 1987, qui est diffusé à l'émission Le Point, magazine d'actualités télévisé de la Société Radio-Canada.

Quand, par la suite, Radio-Canada l'embauche, elle devient la première personne de race noire à travailler à un service des nouvelles de la télévision française au Canada. Elle travaille en tant que journaliste ou présentatrice pour plusieurs émissions du réseau, dont Actuel, Montréal ce soir et Virages. Vers 1995, elle passe à RDI, la chaîne d'information continue de Radio-Canada, et devient la présentatrice du Journal RDI et d'autres émissions et remporte de nombreuses récompenses au fil du temps, incluant un prix Gémeaux. En 2004, elle est suffisamment connue des Canadiens francophones pour lancer sur RDI sa propre émission d'actualités intitulée Michaëlle. Au Canada anglais, elle est bien connue des spectateurs des émissions documentaires de CBC Newsworld, The Passionate Eye et Rough Cuts, qu'elle présente depuis 1999.

Avec son conjoint, le cinéaste Jean-Daniel Lafond, Michaëlle Jean réalise plusieurs documentaires durant les années 1990, dont Tropique Nord (Tropic North), qui traite de l'expérience d'être un Noir vivant au Québec, Haïti dans tous nos rêves (Haïti in All Our Dreams), qui est primé, et L'heure de Cuba, ayant comme thème le 40 e anniversaire de la révolution cubaine.

Gouverneure générale

En août 2005, le premier ministre Paul Martin annonce la nomination de Michaëlle Jean au poste de gouverneur général, nomination qui soulève la controverse. En effet, une publication souverainiste québécoise laisse entendre que son mari et elle ont soutenu la cause séparatiste au Québec. Michaëlle Jean refuse d'abord de répondre, mais publie ensuite une brève mise au point insistant sur le fait qu'elle n'a jamais appartenu au mouvement séparatiste. Le débat sur sa double citoyenneté (elle est devenue française en épousant Lafond, qui est né en France) cesse après sa renonciation à sa citoyenneté française peu de temps avant d'entrer en fonction.

Assermentée le 27 septembre 2005, elle succède à Adrienne Clarkson et devient la première personne de race noire à occuper le poste de gouverneur général. Descendante d' esclaves, elle utilise sa fonction pour démontrer avec passion que la liberté est ce qui définit le mieux le cœur de l'identité canadienne. S'inspirant de son expérience d' immigrante, Michaëlle Jean prétend qu'il est temps d'" éliminer le spectre " des deux solitudes, la française et l'anglaise, qui ont longtemps marqué l'histoire du pays.

En tant que gouverneure générale, elle s'avère une oratrice passionnée et photogénique. Elle utilise sa fonction pour faire progresser les droits humains, soutenir les arts, attirer l'attention sur les problèmes socio-économiques du Nord canadien et promouvoir le Canada à l'étranger, en particulier en Afrique et en Haïti, sa terre natale.

En décembre 2008, elle accepte, à la demande du premier ministre Stephen Harper, de proroger le parlement pour sept semaines. Cette décision controversée permet à Harper d'éviter d'être défait aux Communes, où les partis d'opposition se sont entendus pour remplacer son gouvernement par une coalition de libéraux et de néo-démocrates dirigée par Stéphane Dion. Suivant la tradition parlementaire canadienne, le gouverneur général ne s'explique pas publiquement à ce sujet.

Michaëlle Jean est remplacée par David Johnston au poste de gouverneur général le 1 octobre 2010.

Carrière d'après le poste vice-royal

En 2010, Michaëlle Jean devient envoyée spéciale de l'UNESCO en Haïti. Elle crée également la Fondation Michaëlle Jean, dont le but est d'aider les jeunes défavorisés des milieux ruraux et nordiques du Canada.

Michaëlle Jean est nommée à la présidence du Conseil d'administration de l'Institut québécois des hautes études internationales de l' Université Laval en octobre 2010. Elle devient chancelière de l' Université d'Ottawa en février 2012, mais resigne en 2015 en raison de déplacements fréquents et de responsabilités importantes liés à son poste de secrétaire générale de la Francophonie.

Secrétaire générale de la Francophonie

Le 30 novembre 2014, Michaëlle Jean est désignée secrétaire générale de l'Organisation internationale de la Francophonie lors du 15ᵉ Sommet de la francophonie à Dakar (Sénégal). Elle est la première femme et la première canadienne nommée à ce poste. Suite à une élection controversée en 2018, elle est remplacée par la ministre rwandaise des Affaires étrangères Louise Mushikiwabo en janvier 2019.

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Michaëlle Jean passe son enfance dans un quartier de la classe moyenne de la capitale d'Haïti, Port-au-Prince, où son père est directeur d'école et professeur de philosophie dans un lycée protestant privé. Elle poursuit ses études à la maison parce que ses parents, Roger et Luce, ne veulent pas qu'elle fréquente l'école où elle devrait prêter serment d'allégeance au dictateur François " Papa Doc " Duvalier.

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Jeunesse et éducation

Mary Simon naît deuxième de huit enfants à Kangirsualujjuaq (anciennement George River), un petit village à l'embouchure de la rivière George sur la côte est de la baie d'Ungava au Nunavik, au Québec. Sa mère est Inuite. ( Voir aussi Inuits.) et son père est un Canadien anglais du sud qui est gérant du poste local de la Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson.

Mary Simon grandit dans la communauté de Kuujjuaq (Fort Chimo), située à environ 156 km au sud-ouest de Kangirsualujjuaq. Elle vit selon un mode de vie inuit traditionnel qui implique une famille élargie et des mois à vivre de la terre chaque année. Lors d'une entrevue en 1999, Mary Simon raconte que " c'était un mode de vie simple et très épanouissant. Le genre de vie qui suscite la paix intérieure ". Elle commence ses études dans une école gérée par le gouvernement fédéral, mais elle est par la suite scolarisée à domicile et elle obtient son diplôme par correspondance.

Durant une courte période au début des années 1970, Mary Simon est productrice et présentatrice pour le Service du Nord de la CBC, avant de pivoter vers la carrière de sa vie, la défense des intérêts des Inuits et de l'Arctique.

Fonction publique

Le travail à la fonction publique de Mary Simon commence lorsqu'elle est élue secrétaire du conseil d'administration de l'Association des Inuits du Nouveau-Québec. Cette association défend les droits des Inuits et est une voix plus forte dans les négociations avec le gouvernement québécois concernant le projet hydroélectrique de la baie James. Le travail de l'organisme, ainsi que celui de nombreux dirigeants cris et inuits, mène à la signature, en 1975, de la Convention de la baie James et du Nord québécois, le premier règlement global de revendications territoriales autochtones du Canada.

Mary Simon est élue première vice-présidente de la Société Makivik et elle occupe ce poste de 1978 à 1980. La Société Makivik est formée en 1978 pour administrer les conditions de l'accord, qui incluent la protection des terres inuites et l'investissement du fonds d'indemnisation de 120 millions de dollars. Mary Simon est également présidente de la Société Makivik de 1983 à 1985.

Mary Simon a été membre du Comité inuit sur les affaires nationales. Ce Comité est supervisé par le groupe de défense Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. En tant que membre du Comité, elle participe à plusieurs conférences fédérales-provinciales. Elle soutient que malgré la Constitution récemment rapatriée, avec sa Charte des droits et libertés, et la Convention de la baie James et du Nord québécois, l'égalité et les droits des Autochtones doivent être mieux compris et ont besoin d'une définition juridique plus claire. Son travail et celui du Comité mènent à un remaniement de ce qui est maintenant l'article 35 de la Constitution. Cette section assure la protection des droits autochtones.

À la suite de la crise d'Oka en 1990, le premier ministre de l'époque, Brian Mulroney, crée la Commission royale sur les peuples autochtones. Mary Simon occupe d'abord le poste de secrétaire de la Commission, et ensuite celui de codirectrice des politiques.

En 1997, le gouvernement fédéral nomme Mary Simon pour être l'une de trois Canadiens du Comité consultatif public mixte de la Commission de coopération environnementale de l'Accord de libre-échange nord-américain. Le Comité réunit des experts du Canada, du Mexique et des États-Unis afin de développer des recommandations visant à améliorer la protection durable de l'environnement en Amérique du Nord. Mary Simon est présidente du Comité en 1998.

Elle est également présidente de la Conférence circumpolaire inuite (maintenant renommé Conseil circumpolaire inuit, ou CCI) de 1986 à 1992. En 2021, le CCI représente environ 180 000 Inuits en Alaska, en Russie, au Groenland, et au Canada. Il fait avancer l'unité des Inuits et fait la promotion de leurs intérêts dans la sauvegarde de l'environnement arctique tout en améliorant le développement social et économique. Mary Simon est ambassadrice du Canada aux Affaires circumpolaires de 1994 à 2003. Elle est également ambassadrice du Canada au Danemark de 1999 à 2001. Elle est la première Inuite du Canada à détenir le rang d'ambassadrice. Elle affirme que sa plus grande réalisation au cours de cette période est la création du Conseil de l'Arctique en 1996. Ce Conseil est un forum intergouvernemental qui fait la promotion de la coopération et du développement durable parmi les huit pays ayant un territoire arctique.

Mary Simon est affiliée au Centre Carter depuis 2001 en tant que conseillère pour son International Council for Conflict Resolution. Fondé par le président américain Jimmy Carter, le centre travaille dans le monde entier pour prévenir et résoudre les conflits afin d'instaurer une paix durable.

Mary Simon fait partie de neuf dirigeants nommés par le gouvernement fédéral à la Commission d'établissement du Nunavut, le 10 décembre 1993. Cette Commission négocie la création du territoire autonome du Nunavut en 1999. Mary Simon est également élue présidente de l'Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami de 2006 à 2012. C'est durant ce mandat qu'elle est invitée, le 11 juin 2008, avec d'autres dirigeants et survivants autochtones, à s'assoir à la Chambre des communes pour recevoir les excuses officielles du premier ministre de l'époque, Stephen Harper, au sujet des politiques des pensionnats indiens. Dans son discours ce jour-là, Mary Simon déclare : " les mots choisis pour exprimer ces excuses nous aideront tous à marquer la fin de cette période sombre de notre histoire collective en tant que nation ". ( Voir aussi Réconciliation au Canada.)

Mary Simon a toujours reconnu que l'éducation est la clé pour améliorer la vie des gens. Elle reçoit de nombreux doctorats honorifiques au fil des années, et est chancelière de l' Université Trent de 1995 à 1999. Elle préside au Comité national sur l'éducation des Inuits de 2008 à 2014. Elle dirige la mise en œuvre du rapport de 2011 Un nouveau modèle de leadership partagé dans l'Arctique. Ce rapport identifie et élimine les lacunes dans l'éducation. Il réduit également les taux de décrochage scolaire tout en s'assurant que l'enseignement aux enfants inuits soit fait dans leur langue. ( Voir aussi Inuktitut.) Mary Simon est la présidente fondatrice de la Fondation des jeunes et des enfants de l'Arctique. Depuis 2012, l'organisme aide la jeunesse inuite en offrant des moyens sécuritaires pour demander de l'aide au sujet d'une myriade de problèmes.

Gouverneure générale

Le 6 juillet 2021, le premier ministre Justin Trudeau annonce que, sur ses conseils, la reine Elizabeth II a nommé Mary Simon la 30 e gouverneure générale du Canada. Mary Simon est la première gouverneure générale autochtone du Canada. Elle avait été considérée pour ce rôle en 2010, mais David Johnston avait été choisi à la place. Cette annonce est particulièrement émouvante étant donné qu'au cours des semaines précédentes, le public a été informé de la découverte de tombes anonymes d'enfants autochtones morts dans les pensionnats indiens. La nomination de Mary Simon recentre l'attention sur l'injustice raciale systémique. S'exprimant en inuktitut et en anglais, Mary Simon déclare : " ma nomination reflète notre progrès collectif vers l'édification d'une société plus inclusive, juste et équitable. "

La réaction à la nomination de Mary Simon est positive. Toutefois, certains sont préoccupés par le fait qu'elle représente un bris à la tradition étant donné que Mary Simon ne parle pas français. Cette dernière aborde ce point en disant qu'elle est bilingue parce qu'elle parle l'inuktitut et l'anglais. Elle s'engage à ce que son bureau mène les affaires dans les deux langues officielles, et assure qu'elle apprendra le français. Mary Simon est officiellement installée à la fonction de gouverneure générale le 26 juillet 2021.

Vie personnelle

Mary Simon épouse Whit Fraser en 1994. Elle a auparavant été mariée deux fois, ses enfants sont adultes, et elle a de nombreux petits-enfants.

Les passe-temps de Mary Simon incluent jouer de l'accordéon et faire du canot. Elle visite régulièrement sa famille à Kuujjuaq et retourne sur la terre. Selon un profil publié en 1996 dans , ses jeunes années passées à vivre dans les deux cultures lui ont fourni les bases qui l'ont aidée tout au long de sa carrière et de sa vie.

Distinctions et prix

Au cours de sa longue et distinguée carrière, Mary Simon a reçu plusieurs distinctions et prix :

Ordre national du Québec, 1992.

Gold Order of Greenland, 1992

Prix national d'excellence décerné aux Autochtones (maintenant Indspire), 1996

Médaille d'or de la Société géographique royale du Canada, 1998

Membre de l'Institut arctique de l'Amérique du Nord, 1999

Médaille Symons, Centre des arts de la Confédération, 2009

Intronisée, International Women's Forum Hall of Fame, 2010

Médaille du Gouverneur général pour la nordicité (maintenant la médaille polaire), 2011

Compagnon extraordinaire de l'Ordre du Canada, 2021

Membre, Société géographique royale du Canada, 2022

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Mary Simon naît deuxième de huit enfants à Kangirsualujjuaq (anciennement George River), un petit village à l'embouchure de la rivière George sur la côte est de la baie d'Ungava au Nunavik, au Québec. Sa mère est Inuite. ( Voir aussi Inuits.)

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Symbolisme des emblèmes héraldiques

Écu

Les couleurs de l'écu représentent la neige et le ciel du Nord canadien. La bande horizontale illustre la carrière de pionnière de Son Excellence en matière d'affaires inuites et circumpolaires, tandis que le disque et le cercle se veulent les symboles d'une relation solidaire entre les peuples autochtones et l'ensemble des Canadiens. La couronne royale indique son service à titre de gouverneure générale et de représentante du souverain.

La forme de l'écu rappelle l' amauti (parka) que portent les mères inuites.

Cimier

Le harfang des neiges, renommé pour son agilité et son adaptabilité, évoque le parcours personnel et les habiletés diplomatiques de Son Excellence. Les bois de caribou représentent cet animal primordial de la culture inuite. Ils symbolisent aussi l'interconnexion entre les humains et la nature.

Devise

Le mot en inuktitut, signifiant " Persévérons ", est un principe directeur de Son Excellence et traduit ses espoirs pour le processus de vérité et de réconciliation.

Insignes honorifiques

À gauche : Commandeur de l'Ordre du mérite militaire (C.M.M.)

Au centre : Compagnon de l'Ordre du Canada (C.C.)

À droite : Commandeur de l'Ordre du mérite des corps policiers (C.O.M.)

Supports

Réputé pour son endurance et ses migrations à grande échelle, le renard arctique symbolise sa carrière de diplomate et de défenseure des affaires circumpolaires. L'oxyrie de sorrel (sur le pendentif de gauche) est une plante abondante au Nunavik, lieu d'origine de Son Excellence dans le Nord du Québec. La fleur de fraisier (sur le pendentif de droite) est l'emblème du clan Fraser, en hommage à son mari, Whit Grant Fraser. Le harpon kakivak fait honneur à sa grand-mère inuite qui lui a enseigné de nombreuses valeurs et compétences traditionnelles.

Terrasse

Le champ de bleuets représente un des passe-temps préférés de Son Excellence, la cueillette de bleuets. La linaigrette est une plante nordique utilisée dans la fabrication des mèches de qulliq, lampe inuite traditionnelle.

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Les armoiries de la gouverneure générale Mary Simon

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Les couleurs de l'écu représentent la neige et le ciel du Nord canadien. La bande horizontale illustre la carrière de pionnière de Son Excellence en matière d'affaires inuites et circumpolaires, tandis que le disque et le cercle se veulent les symboles d'une relation solidaire entre les peuples autochtones et l'ensemble des Canadiens.

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Rideau Hall unveiled Gov. Gen. Mary Simon's coat of arms Friday - one that it says reflects her personal story and commitment to reconciliation.

Simon became Governor General last year, making history as the first Indigenous person to hold the ceremonial post.

Simon grew up in the Inuit community of Kangiqsualujjuaq in northern Quebec. Prior to her appointment as Governor General, Simon was a broadcaster, civil servant and diplomat.

In a news release, the Governor General's Office said her coat of arms is a symbol of Simon's northern upbringing, her heritage and her career as a diplomat.

"This coat of arms is my story, my true history, and it speaks of my lifelong commitment to bridge-building and family, and of my hopes for a future where we respect and share each other's stories to help foster better relationships between peoples." Simon said in the news release.

Canada's Chief Herald Samy Khalid, who is responsible for official coats of arms, said in the release that Simon's coat of arms is "simple in its composition and, at the same time, exquisitely complex in its meaning."

"It is a personal emblem that serves a public purpose. It exemplifies how heraldry can express many layers of a person's identity in a structured yet creative way," he said.

The motto

Simon is the first Governor General to have a coat of arms with a motto in an Indigenous language. "Ajuinnata" is an Inuktitut word meaning "to persevere" or never give up.

"This motto inspires her own journey and embodies her message of hope to young people and to all Canadians confronted with adversity," the release said.

A Rideau Hall description of the coat of arms says the motto is "a guiding principle for [Simon] and an indication of her hopes for the truth and reconciliation process."

The shield

The shield is white - a colour which the coat of arms description says is meant to represent reconciliation, as well as the snow and sky of Canada's North. The crown symbolizes Simon's role as representative of the monarchy in Canada.

The shield is the shape of an amauti, a traditional parka worn by Inuit women.

A horizontal line in the shield's centre represents Simon's "trailblazing career in Inuit and circumpolar affairs" while the disc and circle around it represent "an inclusive relationship between Indigenous peoples and all Canadians."

The crest

The Snowy Owl is meant to symbolize wisdom, agility and adaptability.

"It thus alludes to Her Excellency's life experience and her diplomatic skills," the coat of arms description said.

The caribou antlers represent the link between humans and nature. It's also an important animal in Inuit culture.

Supporters

Two arctic foxes flank the coat of arms. The animal is "famed for its endurance and long-distance migratory treks," the description said. They represent Simon's "career as a diplomat and advocate for circumpolar affairs."

The mountain sorrel on the left fox's pendant is a common plant Quebec's Nunavik region, where Simon grew up. The strawberry flower on the opposite pendant is to honour Simon's husband, Whit Grant Fraser. The flower is a symbol on the crest of the Scottish Fraser Clan and the name is derived from "Fraise," the French word for strawberry.

Two kakivak harpoons separate the foxes. The spears represent Simon's grandmother, "who taught her many traditional values and life skills," the description said.

Compartment

Simon enjoys picking berries in her spare time, according to her official biography. The blueberries at the bottom of the crest represent that hobby. The cottongrass that surrounds them is used to make the wicks of a traditional Inuit lamp called the qulliq.

Insignia

The three insignia are, from left to right, the Commander of the Order of Military Merit, Companion of the Order of Canada and Commander of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces.

Coat of arms has unique elements

Khalid said in an interview that a Governor General's coat of arms is usually revealed much closer to their installation date, but the COVID-19 pandemic slowed down the process in this case.

Khalid worked with Simon to design the coat of arms and said he was grateful for the extra time.

"We wanted to do this at this pace this time around, and I think it gave us the opportunity to really develop something very meaningful for Her Excellency," Khalid said.

He said several elements make Simon's coat of arms stand out compared to those of her predecessors. One is the use of the colour white, while another is the Inuktitut motto, which is spelled in both the Latin alphabet and in syllabics.

"In this case what's interesting, in my opinion, is that it's a simple word that's very difficult to translate," Khalid said of the motto.

Khalid added that the use of three insignia is also notable. Most governors general opt for just one, the Order of Canada.

Khalid said he hopes the coat of arms helps Canadians get to know Simon.

"Heralds like to say that they're storytellers, and there's a lot of details here that will allow Canadians to learn a little more about the Governor General, her life and her career."

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Gov. Gen. Mary Simon unveils a highly personal coat of arms | CBC News

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Rideau Hall unveiled Gov. Gen. Mary Simon's coat of arms Friday - one that it says reflects her personal story and commitment to reconciliation. Simon became Governor General last year, making history as the first Indigenous person to hold the ceremonial post. Simon grew up in the Inuit community of Kangiqsualujjuaq in northern Quebec.

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The Public Register of Arms, Flags, and Badges of Canada contains the heraldic emblems that have been granted, registered, approved or confirmed since the establishment of the Canadian Heraldic Authority on June 4, 1988.

The contents of this Register are intended for research purposes only. The heraldic emblems found in the Register may not be reproduced in any form or in any media without the written consent of the Canadian Heraldic Authority and/or the recipient.

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The Public Register of Arms, Flags, and Badges of Canada

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The Public Register of Arms, Flags, and Badges of Canada contains the heraldic emblems that have been granted, registered, approved or confirmed since the establishment of the Canadian Heraldic Authority on June 4, 1988. The contents of this Register are intended for research purposes only.

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Martin Burrell, secretary of state, and Thomas Mulvey, under-secretary of state, prepared a report dated 19 February 1919 which recommended the appointment of a committee to study "the advisability of requesting His Majesty the King, through the College of Heralds, for an amendment to the Armorial Bearings of Canada." The report was conveyed through the Privy Council to the governor general who approved it on March 26. As had been proposed earlier by Thomas Mulvey, the committee was composed of himself, Joseph Pope, under-secretary of state for External Affairs, Arthur G. Doughty, Dominion Archivist, and Major-General Willoughby G. Gwatkin of the Department of Militia and Defence.

At the first meeting of the committee on April 3, Mulvey was appointed chairman and Doughty secretary. Although considerable advice and suggestions had already been received from the public on the question of arms for Canada, the committee decided to openly invite proposals. It opted for the inclusion of royal supporters, regarding which Pope was to communicate with Ambrose Lee, York Herald of Arms, to see if this was acceptable.[1] Pope was the senior member of the committee and the most experienced at negotiating arms. As under-secretary of state, he had obtained arms for Manitoba, Prince Edward Island, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. He was decisive and could exercise leadership, but the responsibility to negotiate arms was traditionally that of the secretary of state, and this was likely the reason for Mulvey's appointment as chairman.

Popes Memoirs convey a clearer idea of the actual discussions which took place at the first meeting. From them, we learn that the aggregate of provincial arms was completely rejected in favour of distinct arms which would include: 1) The Monarchical principle; 2) The French Regime and 3) Something Canadian such as the maple leaf.[2]

Gwatkin, who had been absent from the first meeting, wrote Mulvey assuring him that he concurred with the committee's decision and added: "Personally, I should like to see on a shield argent nine maple leaves arranged (small sketch of a cross formation): suggesting - 1. St. George (England) 2. The nine provinces. 3. Canada and her roll of honour. Other devices (the fleur de lys, for example) could be introduced, somehow. As an alternative motto to 'A mari usque ad mare' I suggest 'In memoriam, in spem'." (In remembrance, in hope).[3]

Of all the committee members, Gwatkin seemed to be the only one who was pushing for a preponderance of Canadian symbols. This was in line with Fiset's earlier proposal (chapter 3) of which Gwatkin, as his delegate, was at least aware and may well have helped to prepare. Nine maple leaves had been one of Fiset's proposals, and like Fiset, Gwatkin also considered a unique red maple leaf. He knew that a red maple leaf had been the badge of the Canadian Expeditionary Force during World War I and had written to Herbert George Todd, a genealogist and heraldist living in Yonkers (New York), to ask if the use of the maple leaf as a Canadian badge precluded its inclusion in the shield of arms of Canada. Todd replied that he was sure it did not and went on to preach the value of simplicity in matters of heraldry stating that: "a child should be able to draw the Canadian coat of arms in the dark."

Yet when Lieut. Col. Charles Frederick Hamilton of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police did propose to Todd a single red maple leaf on a white field, he considered this to be too simple, too much like a badge. He much preferred Hamilton's second suggestion of nine red maple leaves on white, particularly if arranged in the form of a St. George's cross as Gwatkin had suggested. In Todd's mind, a badge was a quick means of identification and should be in the simplest form. On the other hand, a coat of arms was required to tell a story about its user and, in his view, should be a little more complex: "The badge should be universal, it is simply a mark as it were that sinks into the mind and requires no thinking about it while ...the banner on the shield [a shield and a banner of the arms contain the same components] was a sort of 'who's who' which told the herald more than a little about the bearer." Interestingly, the Gwatkin-Hamilton proposals all favoured red and white which would eventually become Canada's colours. Hamilton, a staunch royalist who had proposed that Canada be made a kingdom, obviously understood that the maple leaf and crown would make a viable combination.

Todd recognized that the maple leaf was becoming increasingly popular and presented a beautiful simplicity, but he felt that the single leaf did not reveal enough and did not have sufficient history being "of very recent growth as a national symbol."[4] To the maple leaf, he preferred symbols of the mother countries on the shield and proposed to Mulvey, as he had done to Hamilton, a red shield with a gold lion rampant in the centre surrounded by nine gold fleurs-de-lis, he added a helmet and crest in the form of a black moose, with golden horns and hooves, standing on the imperial crown. The supporters were, on the spectators left, a bison and, on the right, a polar bear, both in natural colours and adorned on the shoulder with a gold maple leaf (fig. 1).[5]
Fig. 1 Rough sketch of proposal for Canada's arms by Herbert Todd
In retrospect, it is easy to see that the maple leaf was the rising star. For more than a century, it had been widely accepted by Anglophones and Francophones as an emblem of Canada and had also been adopted by the Canadian military. It was a single item with a huge baggage of symbolism and would retain this symbolism whether on a badge or on a shield. In fact, Todd's attitude echoed that of Fiset who, after proposing a single maple leaf, began to have doubts that it may be too simple. Though Hamilton and Gwatkin had envisaged a single maple leaf, the hesitation to make a bold Canadian statement by introducing this single symbol lingered.

Todd had placed on the shield, the essential part of a coat of arms, the European lion and fleurs-de-lis, both of which had been stylized over many years. Around the shield, he had placed heavy-set Canadian animals drawn more or less as they exist in nature. Combining this naturalistic approach with stylized elements made for an incongruous composition. He had pointed out that animals make better supporters than humans, but stylizing a bison and polar bear to make them look alert and dignified is not the work of a "child drawing in the dark." It requires skill, knowledge and willingness to consider many possibilities.[6] Moreover, simplicity in heraldry does not necessarily mean simplicity of execution; it also means limitation of the number of components. On the other hand, Todd's design was an honest effort at reaching a balance between European and Canadian content. This approach was not different from that of the Antiquarian and Numismatic Society of Montreal (chapter 3, fig. 15). In fact, many of the proposals submitted aimed at reaching a balance between European and Canadian content.

A very prolific designer of proposed arms for Canada was Edgar J. Biggar, a professor of Spanish living in Toronto. Following the committee's request for public proposals, Biggar bombarded the Department of the Secretary of State with his creations, which inevitably included Canadian symbols combined with European elements, such as a lion holding the Union Jack, fleurs-de-lis, and the crown. The presence of the crown is not surprising. From the 1870's, and without official sanction, the royal crown had usually topped the Dominion shield, those of the provinces and those of many freely adopted municipal coats of arms. Other suggestions, including those of George Herbert Todd, all contained a large number of Canadian symbols: maple leaves, beavers, moose, bears, bisons, Amerindians and voyageurs. References to European heritage and to the founding nations were also frequent.[7]

The 15 February 1919 Mail and Empire of Toronto carried a proposal from Biggar. A few years before the professor had taught geography at the Instituto Nacional de Panama and had been commissioned to paint the arms of the principal nations of the world on large metal shields. The 1868 arms of the original four provinces had been the target of adverse criticism by viewers as not being representative of the country as a whole. On the other hand, Biggar's judgement of the aggregate shield, meant to represent the entire country, echoed that of Morin (chapter 3): "Our present shield I maintain is but a complicated and confused mass of mythological and biological signs and symbols jumbled together in anything but an artistic design." The professor vowed on his return to Canada to do something about this mess. He felt strongly that any design should contain the beaver and maple leaf, the two most popular emblems of the country.

One of Biggar's designs contained a sprig of three gold maple leaves on a green field combined with a gold chief (top part of the shield) with a red lion passant guardant (walking by, looking at the spectator). As supporters, he proposed an Amerindian and a moose, a completely asymmetric combination. On the shield, he placed a helmet facing forward with a crescent shaped slit, a vertical plaque, and mantling on top. The crest consisted of the imperial crown placed directly on the crest wreath in front of a gold sun representing prosperity. The motto was For God, for King and for Country. Below the shield appeared a beaver in front of a garland of roses, lilies, thistles and shamrocks representing the four founding nations (fig. 2). A second design was much the same except that it had a blue field with a silver chevron cluttered with nine green maple leaves. At the top, below the chief, were two gold fleurs-de-lis and in base a beaver proper (natural colours). The floral badges of the founding nations were retained under the shield, but motto had now become God Guard our Country (fig. 3).

Fig. 2 Design by Edgar J. Biggar in Mail and Empire, 15 February 1919. Pairing a human with an animal can be viewed as improper and usually presents problems of symmetry.

Fig. 3 Design by Edgar J. Biggar in Mail and Empire, 15 February 1919.

Fig. 4 Another design by Edgar J. Biggar. The shield is the arms of Ontario as granted in 1868 except that the leaves are described as being in "gold and autumnal tints" instead of just gold. Library and Archives Canada, RG 6, A1, vol. 210, file 1156, part 1.

The decorative wreath of roses, lilies, thistles and shamrocks (figs. 2-4) to represent the founding nations proposed by Biggar would be retained in the official grant to Canada, although a similar idea had already been expressed in 1892 (see chapter 3, fig. 8). The committee no doubt liked this idea which fitted so well with their own desire to honour the founders of the country. One recurrent theme in many proposed designs is that nine provinces must be represented somehow: nine maple leaves in chief by Morin (chapter 3, fig. 14), nine fleurs-de-lis by Todd (fig. 1) and nine maple leaves on a chevron by Biggar (fig. 3). Chadwick wrote the Mail and Empire condemning, in particular, Biggar's use of the crown which he viewed as being "purely personal to the King" and not to be used without his authorization.[8]

From abroad came suggestions from John Alexander Stewart [9], "Convener of the Heraldic Committee" of the St. Andrew Society of Glasgow which had been in touch with the Antiquarian and Numismatic Society of Montreal. Some of his remarks were highly technical, even cryptic at times. He wanted Scotland to have a significant place in Canada's arms and made a special effort to show how some Scottish symbols would be appropriate for Canada:

"Have you considered the tressure as a possible charge? It is the symbol of the Auld Alliance between France and Scotland, and if you put it round the 'Lion of England' (with or without Maple Leaves) you have a symbol of Anglo-Franco-Scottish (Canadian) Alliance and friendship. New France and New Scotland were the original provinces of Canada, and I suppose Mary Queen of France and of the Scots would be the Queen of New France also. The tressure would not be granted in ordinary cases, but it is already part of the arms of Nova Scotia, and if this were pointed out I have no doubt that His Majesty would grant it ..."[10]

Although an interesting idea, Stewart's Scottish tressure (double lines following the contour of the shield and decorated with fleurs-de-lis) was not retained by the Antiquarian and Numismatic Society. The society surely reasoned that, with a tressure and a lion, the proposed arms would resemble too closely those of Scotland. Still his remarks caused the society to modify its original suggestion and John Charles Alison Heriot, now Chairman of the Heraldic Committee of the Antiquarian and Numismatic Society, submitted a new design. The moose in the crest became a moose's head full face and the lion passant guardant on the shield was changed for a lion rampant (on hind feet). Beside the motto Dieu défend le roy, a second motto, "Onward Canada," appeared above the crest in Scottish fashion, but Canadian in spirit. The supporters were replaced by a unicorn (originally a supporter of the arms of Scotland and eventually a supporter of the arms of the United Kingdom) and a moose. Two maple leaves accompanied the lion at the top of the shield and a fleur-de-lis in base. The Canadian content remained important and, no doubt, this design was approved by all members of the Society.[11] In fairness to Stewart, his suggestions helped to create a more dramatic design than the original proposal of the Antiquarian and Numismatic Society. A large moose head with huge antlers in the crest is more striking than a complete moose and a lion standing on the shield is more dramatic than a lion waking by. Moreover animals generally look better as supporters than humans.

Stewart's influence did not end there. Encouraged by the acceptance that some of his suggestions had received, he wrote again to Heriot: "The English Heralds, who have no jurisdiction out of England, are fond of granting purely English coats. A Court of all the British Kings of Arms is really required to advise in matters of Imperial Heraldry, military flags, badges, etc."[12]

Prompted by Stewart's Scottish zeal, Herriot, another Scotsman, wrote to the federal committee requesting in strong terms that the Lyon King of Arms, Sir James Balfour Paul, and the "Ulster King of Arms of Ireland" should also be consulted. He went on to affirm "the government offices of Lyon and Ulster by law established possess a higher status than the fee-supported Heralds' College of England" and "... we feel that it would be a very graceful and appropriate act on the part of your Committee to consult the Lyon King of Arms in this connection, particularly so as Scotland is the most ancient of the three Kingdoms, and as it is in virtue of his descent from her Royal Line that our present Sovereign, King George sits upon the British Throne".[13] It does not seem that this letter was acknowledged by the committee. The suggestion to involve all the granting authorities in United Kingdom foreshadowed conflicting views and endless debate.

Besides Stewart, voices from abroad included the well-known author Rudyard Kipling and Sir George Perley, High Commissioner of Canada in London. Both felt that the participation of the Dominions in the war should be recognized by an augmentation of honour. They had discussed the matter at the Ritz Hotel (London) and Perley had made their views known to Mulvey. These augmentations, they suggested, would "be placed on a Shield crowned by the Imperial crown in the centre of the present arms" and the choice of augmentations would be made by an "Inter-Dominion Commission of experts."[14] The suggestion was analysed, possibly by Hamilton, and judged to be a little premature where Canada was concerned. A memorandum on the subject noted that such augmentations were special marks of favour from the sovereign and were granted by Royal warrant and recorded at the College of Arms. It further noted: "Technically speaking, a gift of arms by the sovereign where none previously existed is not an augmentation, though one is naturally inclined to include such grants in the category."[15] The Kipling-Perley proposal was of course an effort to create greater cohesion between members of the empire.

Unexpectedly, another letter came from abroad. Ambrose Lee, York Herald, was responding to earlier correspondence with Pope. York was in serious disarray. His artist had died early in 1916 and any sketch which he might have done for Canadian arms had disappeared. Based on earlier correspondence with Pope, Lee had come up with most of the elements which would eventually compose the official arms of Canada. Included were the arms of the four founding nations (arranged differently than in the present arms) and the three separate red maple leaves side by side, and in chief ( upper part) rather than in base. The crest was the same as in the present arms except that the lion was standing on a green mound (fig. 5). Lee further proposed the unicorn as one supporter with possibly an angel taken from the royal arms of France (a surprising combination as Chadwick will point out) and suggested that each hold banners one of which could be the Union Jack. The suggested motto was Dieu protège la (sic) Canada, a variant on Dieu protège le roy proposed by Chadwick and the Antiquarian and Numismatic Society of Montreal. Lee's suggestion was open to discussion and his approach was flexible and friendly: "It would help us very much if suggestions could be put forward from your side; it is so difficult for us here to judge the trend of taste and opinion in Canada on such matters."[16]

Fig. 5 Lee's proposal for Canada, June 1919. Library and Archives Canada, RG 6, A1, vol. 210, file 1156, part 1.
Lee's design respected Pope's wish to emphasize imperial ties and the monarchy and was well received by the committee to which it provided focus. Nevertheless, Doughty still favoured the lion and unicorn as supporters and thought these might prove acceptable if the lion was on the right and the unicorn on the left, reversing their position with respect to the royal arms. Otherwise, he proposed coupling an Amerindian with an angel.[17] Gwatkin, for his part, favoured a sprig of maple as in the arms of Ontario and Quebec rather than the three separate leaves (a proposal retained). He remarked that if "so sensitive" was "the Protestant conscience," the angel could be replaced by an early settler holding an axe or an eastern Amerindian holding a bow. Gwatkin's supporters were inspired by a fanciful drawing in which Todd had added a settler and an Amerindian as supporters of the province of Quebec (fig. 6).[18] Latter Gwatkin became concerned that Dieu protège le Canada might be objected to, being French. He proposed instead the motto of Louis XIV, Nec pluribus impar (Not equalled by many) "as an answer to our next door neighbour's crow: E pluribus unum" (One out of many).[19] Gwatkin was an interesting member of the committee who sought to promote Canadian content, but to oppose Louis XIV's pompous motto to that of the United States, a mere statement of fact, was not particularly inspired.

Fig. 6 Herbert Todd's proposal of a crest and supporters for the province of Quebec, the supporters being: Dexter an eastern Indian holding in his outer hand a bow; sinister an early settler holding in his outer hand an axe, all proper. From his Armory and Lineages of Canada (Yonkers, N.Y., 1919), plates after page 122.
The committee often met in impromptu fashion, often in Mulvey's office, and rarely recorded its minutes. Following the July 15 meeting, a lengthy memorandum was prepared clearly outlining where the committee was heading. Three designs were being proposed. The first one was, with one minor change, what Lee had proposed (fig. 5), namely: 1) England, 2) France, 3) Scotland, 4) Ireland and a white chief with three separate red maple leaves. The crest was that of the present arms, except that the green mound in Lee's proposal was removed. The motto remained Dieu protège le Canada and the supporters were also inspired by Lee: on the left, the unicorn holding the Union Jack; on the right, an angel holding a blue banner with three gold fleurs-de-lis and a red maple leaf in the left hand.

The second design was the same as the first except that the three maple leaves in chief were now joined on one stem as Gwatkin had proposed and the right supporter, instead of an angel, was a coureur de bois holding in the left hand a flint-lock riffle. The motto was that of Louis XIV, Nec pluribus impar. In the third design, the banners were removed and the supporter on the right was an Indian with a feather head-dress and holding in the left hand a bow and arrow. The motto remained Dieu protège le Canada.
The memorandum further explained that the objectives of the committee were: "to secure a satisfactory symbol for Canada, which will embody personal and national loyalty and pride." This would be achieved by combining into one design "a reference to the past, a suggestion of our present status as a daughter nation, and a vision of the hopes of our future." The link to the past was achieved by including European heritage. The present status "as a daughter nation" was expressed by the emblems of the founding nations, the many components derived from the king's arms and the red maple leaves which had become a symbol of courage during the war: "... a red leaf on a service flag denoted a Canadian who had laid down his life for his country."[20] The white background represented Canadian winters in which some authors saw an allusion to "Our Lady of the Snows." The memorandum also contained a number of aesthetic considerations and justified the exclusion of more traditional Canadian emblems like the beaver by the fact that they had not yet been properly stylised as had been the lions of England over the years. It rejected as well nine leaves as being too small for "distinctive treatment" and a single leaf as being "... too large, and would tempt artists to make a picture of it, instead of conventionalizing it, as is proper in heraldry." It further explained that the crest derived from two crests, that of Scotland and that of England. The position of the lion was patterned on the crest of England and the maple leaf in its paw mimicked the Scottish crest in which a lion holds a dagger. The memorandum also upheld that the inclusion of royal symbols was justified because, although the royal arms are "the personal property of the King," they are his "by virtue of his position as sovereign, and not in his private capacity."[21] How the "vision of the hopes of the future" was to be reflected was not explained, although it was clear that this role would be under the Crown and within the empire.[22]

In the meantime, Chadwick worried that the committee would bungle things without the guidance of a heraldic expert. He wrote Mulvey on December 4 recommending that, if the committee did not go to the College of Arms by measure of economy, it should ask the governor general to approve the arms. He felt that the governor general had the required powers to grant arms if he thought it appropriate to do so.[23] Mulvey informed Chadwick that the committee was in correspondence with the College of arms and that the present delays were caused by the college not responding.[24]

During December and January, Chadwick wrote a series of letters to Mulvey offering words of caution. His main source of information was rumours so that many of his remarks were off-base. Dieu protège le Canada, in his mind, had republican overtones whereas his own earlier suggestion, Dieu protège le roy was clearly monarchical. The angel too had to be removed because its iconography had evolved into that of a heathen goddess,[25] and combining a unicorn with an angel was disturbing: "... surely any sensible person would not seriously propose to pair an animal with a human or human like form." He further cautioned that the king's permission was required for the use of a royal crest. He pointed out again that Amerindians supporters were highly appropriate having been granted in 1664 to the French East India Company which operated in Canada. Because York Herald had been a source of delay, he recommended abandoning him in favour of Charles H. Athill, Richmond Herald, with whom he had corresponded, but by then Athill had become Clarenceux King of Arms.[26] Some of Chadwick's views, such as the impropriety of combining an angel with a beast, understandably made an impression on the committee, while other suggestions were ignored.

On 20 January 1920, Lee finally responded from a nursing home where he was confined with heart problems. A colleague had been asked to deal with the Canadian grant, but had done nothing. Since his health was improving, he was anxious to get on with the task. He already had negotiated the arms of nineteen British colonies including South Africa, New Zealand and Australia and was looking forward to his twentieth grant. He was hoping to send shortly "an official sketch embodying the closest approximation to the Royal achievement which may be practicable."[27]

In the meantime, the design favoured by the committee was obviously leaked to the press. On January 20, Doughy asked Alexander Scott Carter to reproduce for him a line drawing of the proposed arms which had appeared in the Toronto Saturday Night. The drawing produced by Carter (fig. 7) had the same components as the arms eventually adopted by the committee and printed for distribution (fig. 8), the only differences being that Carter's rendering placed the lion on a mound and was far superior heraldic art than the latter, even if he made a small mistake in the Latin a mare instead of a mari.[28]

Fig. 7 Drawing of proposed arms for Canada by A. S. Carter, 1920. The motto should read: A mari usque ad mare. LAC photo C-133326.
In a subsequent letter dated March 22, we learn that the colleague who had failed Lee was no other than Sir Henry Farnham Burke, Garter King of Arms. In recent discussions, York had learned that Garter was strongly opposed to royal arms for Canada and was not prepared to propose such a design for His Majesty's approval. Garter was of the opinion that Canada's arms should include royal badges such as the rose, the shamrock, the thistle, the fleur-de-lis to which the maple leaf could be added "with perhaps the Imperial Arms as a sort of centre." Suitable supporters would be Amerindians or indigenous animals. In an accompanying drawing, the shield displayed the royal crown between a maple branch and a rose branch their stems tied with a ribbon, within a tressure (an inner band shaped as the contours of the shield) decorated with fleurs-de-lis alternately pointing inwards and outwards. The crest was the royal crown on a rose between a maple branch on the left and a branch with fleurs-de-lis on the right.[29]

Pope judged Lee's response to be "unsatisfactory" and proposed holding a meeting.[30] The reasons for Garters opposition had not been spelt out and the dainty looking arms being proposed did not reflect the rugged strength of Canada's vast expanses and huge potential. Above all, Pope must have felt that Canada was being treated like a colony and Canadians as being less than British citizens.

Gwatkin seized upon this occasion to promote Canadian content. He proposed to the committee a white shield with nine red maple leaves (rejected earlier by the committee) placed three, three, two and one within a red tressure flory counter-flory (as in the arms of Scotland), as crest a beaver proper (rejected earlier by the committee) surmounted by the Imperial crown, as motto A mari usque ad mare, and as supporters two caribous proper, one holding the Union Flag, the other, the banner of France.[31] A few days later, he had changed his mind and wanted the nine leaves to become three sprigs of three leaves each.[32] However, just prior to the meeting, he received from Mulvey a letter exposing Pope's view that they should go on with the original proposition with only minor changes, such as how the supporters could be differentiated from those of the United Kingdom.

As a result of Garter's opposition, the committee was forced to express more clearly its own views. They at first discussed placing a St. George cross in chief, but the idea was abandoned.[33] When the committee met on April 13, it clearly stated that it was seeking a version of the royal arms such as existed for England and Scotland and that these "should be unmistakeably an expression of the relation of the Sovereign to his Canadian people". It also decided "with profound respect" to present their design to His Majesty.

"The Committee take it that the proposed 'Arms of Canada' in any event will be His Majesty's Arms as Sovereign of Canada, and that, once they are adopted, it will be as anomalous to display in Canada the Royal Arms as used in England as it would be to use those Arms in Scotland, in lieu of the arrangement (with different crest and mottoes and altered arrangements of quarterings and supporters) which prevails in that Kingdom."

They wanted, they said, to create an impression of "continuity and development in status" and a design in the format of royal arms: "On the other hand, if the familiar Royal Arms were replaced by a device wholly different, and clearly inspired by local sentiment and traditions, almost to the exclusion of recognition of the past, the question arises of the nature of the real impression which would be created."

The hopes for the future were now clearly spelt out as being the continuation of monarchical government. They realized that the arms adopted would either mean greater Canadian nationalism or stronger unity of the empire and, of the two, they preferred arms which emphasized "continuity and union." It was now clear in the committee's mind that Canada's arms should be His Majesty's royal arms for Canada based on those of the United Kingdom, with limited Canadian content. The committee members unequivocally stated "that their task above all" was "political." This went a long way towards explaining the exclusion of heraldists like Chadwick from the committee.[34]

The committee's strong statement was in harmony with Pope's desire for close ties with the Crown and the recognition that Canadians are British citizens on the same footing as those of England. In an embryonic stage, we find there the ideas expressed by the Balfour Declaration which pronounced members of the empire to be equal under the Crown, a statement which became law by the Statute of Westminster in 1931. In fact, it was not that far away from the notion of a King or Queen of Canada, which would become a reality in 1953.

Certainly there was no desire on the part of Pope to weaken the empire in favour of the Dominions. A draft booklet prepared in 1921 to describe Canada's arms once they were granted stated that the royal arms took one form for England, another for Scotland and yet another for Canada. Though it was expressed in a vague circuitous way, the statement implied that Canada was equal to England and Scotland with respect to the Crown. In other words, the three countries each possessed an armorial instrument which, while respecting their distinctiveness, expressed an identical relationship with respect to the sovereign. This was precisely what the other members of the committee wanted, but Pope took exception to: "... the Dominion of Canada being on equality of status with the ancient Kingdom of Scotland. I do not wish to be associated with any such statement and I would suggest that the simplest way would be that my name might be left out." Mulvey replied that there was no personal association as no one would be signing.[35] Pope's views regarding the relationship of Dominions to the empire were becoming archaic. He was likely aware of that since he did not ask Mulvey to change his statement, only not to associate his name with it.

When presented in the form of a rough sketch, the arms adopted at the April 13 meeting were judged acceptable. Gwatkin merely stated: "Instead of having rose and thistle on the dexter, with shamrock and lily on the sinister side, I would have rose, thistle, shamrock and lily on both sides."[36] Pope preferred the floral arrangement as originally presented, but could accept Gwatkin's suggestion if it did not create a crowded appearance. The idea of placing the emblems symmetrically on both sides prevailed and became part of the committee's design. Another suggestion from Pope was listened to but clearly revealed his ignorance of heraldic aesthetics: "I trust that on consideration, we may come round to the green maple leaves. The more I consider the matter, the more I am inclined to the opinion that it is preferable that the leaves should speak of growth and life rather than decay and approaching dissolution, which the sere [withered] and yellow, or even the red leaf, to my mind symbolizes."[37]

At the end of May, a drawing of the proposed arms was prepared by Fortunat Champagne, an illustrator and calligrapher who worked for the Secretary of State of Canada. [38] The drawing was printed at the end of June as a means of making the design known to those concerned.[39] The arms were close to the present ones except that the maple leaves were green and were at the top of the shield rather than in base as they are today. There were neither helmet nor mantling, the crown above the present arms was missing and the lion wore the royal crown and looked at the spectator (fig. 8).

Fig. 8 Print of the proposed arms for Canada signed by members of Arms Committee, Ottawa, July 7th 1920, from a drawing by Fortunat Champagne. LAC neg. C-133325.
A report of the committee describing the arms and how they had come about was sent via the Privy Council for approval by the Governor General.[40] The approved report went to His Majesty with a request that he direct the College of Arms to grant the arms as described.[41]

One usual silly comment, at least from a heraldist's point of view, was made by P. D. Robertson, minister of labour, regarding the lion's tongue.[42] To his credit, however, he did admit that he could be wrong: "I would respectfully suggest that, inasmuch as the lion represents strength and dignity and as its head is adorned by the British Crown, it would be more appropriate if the lion's tongue were not exposed. There may, however, be some good reason why this change should not be made."[43]

More pertinent to the debate were Chadwick's comments when he was confidentially sent a copy of the printed arms by Mulvey. It came with the warning that the design should not be made public before being officially confirmed as "it might be condemned through the spreading of misrepresentations by some half-baked reporter."[44] Chadwick agreed with the need for confidentiality; he had himself seen too many suggestions "made in ignorance or bad taste." Apart from his usual fear that the committee might come up with a faulty blazon (heraldic description), he stressed that the complex shield, which he described as Hanoverian, was no longer favoured by heraldic artists of high repute. They now preferred, he said, the shield shaped like a clothes iron which he called the "Chivalric English Shield." He further pointed out that the coat of arms was incomplete without helmet and mantling. He thought the arms of the founding nations were appropriate provided they were approved. Otherwise, in his view, appropriating something which belonged to the sovereign was "high treason." He warned that the acceptance of the maple leaf above the royal quarters was not likely to meet the approval of the king or of the heralds and sent a sketch proposing that the leaves should appear below England and Scotland, but above France and Ireland. This proposal, he maintained, had the further advantage that it made the heraldic description easier.[45]

Mulvey responded that the artist had made the shield as found in the royal arms of Victoria, but that they did not feel bound by that particular shape. He stated as well that the committee had hesitations about the helmet and mantling as these were not personal arms, which of course made little heraldic sense. He further pointed out that the entire coat of arms would be submitted for the approval of the king and thus the problem of royal approval would be overcome. The committee's hesitation with the helmet and mantling stemmed from a statement made by a herald.[46] In a letter dated July 25, 1907 Charles H. Athill, Richmond Herald, had stated to the Honourable J.P. Whitney, Prime Minister of Ontario, that "in the event of a Crest being granted to the Province no helmet would according to precedent be assigned."[47] What precedent Richmond was referring to is not clear. A 1729 depiction of the arms granted to Nova Scotia c. 1625 does contain a helmet, [48] and the letters patent of King Charles I granting arms to Newfoundland in 1637 clearly specify one. In 1907, the other provinces did not have crests and therefore no helmet was needed. When the arms of Ontario were augmented with a crest in 1909, no helmet or mantling was specified in the royal warrant and none were included in the accompanying rendering.[49]

The question of the Ontario arms without helmet had been a sore point with Chadwick for some time. He strongly felt that a crest "without the helmet is like an armed man going into action with his scabbard without his sword, or it is like a man having a saddle and bridle but no horse to put them on!" He called such arms an "abbreviated achievement." When he protested to the College of Arms, he was told that the helmet was implied in the Ontario grant and would not necessarily have been spelt out in the letters patent.[50] In other words, while the helmet and mantling were omitted in the blazon, they should have appeared in the drawing which serves as a guide as to how the arms should look.

When Pope saw Chadwick's comments, he concurred with Mulvey that they should be discussed with York Herald by Gwatkin who was sailing for England on July 24. Not being a heraldic expert, Pope was "prepared for any small changes of this nature which do not touch any question of principle."[51] In the meantime, however, Mulvey had decided that Gwatkin should go directly to the official in authority, Sir Alfred Scott-Gatty whom he believed to still be Garter King of Arms. Moreover, the letter of introduction to Garter did not reveal that a submission had been made to the king. It stated: "These Arms are, in the near future, to be submitted to the College of Heralds to be recorded if same are duly approved. They may be further considered and reported upon by the College of Heralds, and for that reason it may be necessary for further representations to be made to you on the subject."[52]

In other words, Gwatkin was there to iron out any further difficulties before the College was directed by the king to record the arms he approved. The manoeuvre was a strange one to say the least. Why should the advice of Garter be sought at this point since it was presumed that whatever he may have to say would be overridden once the king had approved the Canadian design? If it was thought that he could offer useful advice, he should have been consulted during the design process. Moreover, Ambrose Lee, York Herald, had already informed the committee that Garter was opposed to royal arms for Canada.

Gwatkin was not convinced of the necessity of a version of the royal arms, and he had many times made known his preference for predominantly Canadian symbols. It seems that he was chosen as armorial ambassador solely because he happened to be going to England on military business. If the intention was to convince Garter of the Canadian position, Pope would have no doubt been the more forceful man for the mission. However, he was not going to England; he was about to leave for holidays at Little Metis Beach on the south shore of the St. Lawrence. Neither Mulvey nor Gwatkin seemed to have taken time to think things out. In Pope's mind, Gwatkin was to go to York Herald to discuss the matters raised by Chadwick. Should the arms include a helmet? What was the best type of shield? The situation was further confused by the fact that Scott-Gatty, to whom Mulvey's letter of introduction was addressed, had been dead for over a year and a half and had been replaced by Sir Henry Farnham Burke whose opposition to royal arms for Canada, York Herald had made known to the committee.

When Pope learned that Gwatkin was approaching Garter directly, he was upset. He was also annoyed that Gwatkin had discussed the question of arms with the king's private secretary, Baron Arthur John Bigge Stamfordham, as well as with the colonial secretary, Viscount Alfred Milner. He wrote Mulvey:

"I am afraid Gwatkin is going the wrong way about it. There is no use in approaching Garter directly. He will not allow us the lion and the unicorn. The York Herald in his letter to me distinctly says as much. Our only chance of success lies in indirect methods. The G.G. has written Lord Edmund Talbot, the Acting Earl Marshall, privately. The Duke of Connaught [former governor general of Canada] has also been written to. I never counted on Lord Stamfordham in this matter for anything. It is not to be expected that the King's Private Secretary would concern himself with such a question as Arms for a distant Dominion, or Lord Milner either. I never was sanguine from being able to secure the Arms so closely approximating to the Royal Arms, but we must pull every wire and even should everything fail, I am proud to have my name associated with a design at once so appropriate striking and complete as is our recommendation. I am returning to Ottawa in a few days when Doughty, you and I might meet and have a talk."[53]

On August 30, Gwatkin met with Garter: "This morning I had a long talk with Garter, who discountenances the use of the King's personal Arms. I asked him to suggest something better; & I left him in the agony, so to speak, of composition."[54] Two days later, Gwatkin met again with Garter who showed him his composition as drawn by the artist G. Cobb. The arms consisted of a white shield with a branch of nine maple leaves and the royal crown above. The crest was a gold beaver standing on a gold coronet of maple leaves " on a helmet mantled argent and gules " (white and red). The supporters were to be two lions or two beavers holding flags as in the present arms. The present motto and floral badges were also retained. Gwatkin noted that red maple leaves looked better than green ones and seemed quite pleased with the results. "They are not what we wanted; but they look very handsome, and I hope they will prove acceptable."[55] On reading this description, one is struck by the similarities between Garter's design and Gwatkin's earlier one. His nine maple leaves are there as well as his beaver. Obviously, in his discussions with Garter, the major general had revived his own ideas forgetting what had been decided by the committee.

There were obviously conflicting views within the committee, and since the ultimate responsibility for giving Canada proper arms was that of Mulvey, he sometimes took initiatives of his own. On September 9, he wrote Rudyard Kipling who earlier had shown an interest in arms for Canada and had discussed the matter with Sir George Perley. He let Kipling know that he had read his humorous article entitled "A Displaie of New Heraldrie," written in mock old English and signed Z. The article, published in the 3 November 1917 issue of The Spectator, pleaded for heraldic recognition of the Dominions' participation in the war.[56] Mulvey went on to explain how Canada had acquired the aggregate Dominion arms. He described the arms that the committee was now proposing and informed Kipling that their proposal had gone to the king. He further spoke of Gwatkin's visit and the opposition of Garter and asked for Kipling's support: "Canada, as you stated in correspondence with Sir George Perley, has taken a part in the War which should entitle her to recognition, and this small recognition if granted at the present time would be very highly appreciated in Canada. The Arms would stand for all time to come as a national decoration for services in the war."[57] Kipling had been away on holidays but acknowledged the letter and promised he would attempt to discover the specific objections to the proposed arms.[58]

In the meantime, Gwatkin, having returned to Canada on September 29, informed Cobb that he would soon receive the £10.00 owed him for his "beautiful rendering." He further told him that the committee was charmed with his work, but that it still hoped the king would approve the royal version.[59] Garter evidently saw Gwatkin's letter, but made no comment regarding the committee's stance when he thanked Mulvey for sending Cobb's payment.[60]

On November 19, Milner wrote Devonshire, Governor General of Canada, informing him that before submitting the design to the king, he had consulted Garter who had made certain objections "which I need not trouble you with." But, more importantly, he stated that Garter had understood from Gwatkin that a new design from the Canadian government "which would meet Garter's points" would be forthcoming. This new design was being awaited. Further, he had, through Stamfordham, sought the views of the king regarding proposed arms for Canada. The king it was learnt "would gladly give his consent to the proposed incorporation of portions of the Royal Arms into these Armorial Bearings." However he did, as Chadwick had warned, "take exception to placing the Arms of the Sovereign under a Chief with Maple Leaves, and considers that the position should be reversed so that the arms come above the leaves." The view was taken that the leaves, when placed above, debased the arms of the Sovereign and once this was explained to Canadian ministers, they would surely comply with His Majesty's wishes. Milner promised that, as soon as the revised sketch arrived, it would be placed before the king for his approval.[61] When Pope learned from a telegram [62] that Gwatkin had promised Garter a revised design, he remarked tersely: "I may observe that I did not understand that Garter's communication to General Gwatkin was in any sense official."[63]

In the meantime, Gwatkin had seen the royal warrant granting arms to the Royal Military College of Canada and had noted that the royal crown had been authorized above the arms. He expressed to Mulvey his feeling that a similar crown should appear above Canada's arms and, for that matter, saw no reason why the lion should remain "un-crowned" as in the royal arms.[64] A bit later, he reported that Doughty had found a banner for France, a white cross on a blue field, and thought this flag would be well balanced with the cross of St. George on a white field which could replace the Union Jack.[65] The idea had considerable merit, both from a design and historical point of view and Mulvey thought so, but was hesitant because the other flags had not been objected to by the College of Arms.[66] Gwatkin did pose one small gesture which may have had some influence on the colours of the mantling in the arms of Canada. On December 16, he sent Garter's drawing to Mulvey explaining that if there was to be a helmet with Canada's arms, he proposed Cobb's sketch as a model.

On 4 March 1921, Garter inquired of Gwatkin whether the drawing he had taken back with him had given rise to a decision regarding the arms proposal.[67] Gwatkin reported that the committee had been contemplating arms where the lilies of France were replaced by the lions of England repeated in the fourth quarter, leaving the royal arms of the United Kingdom intact, but placing in the centre a white "escutcheon of pretence" displaying a red maple leaf. The royal crown was to be included above the coat of arms as had been done for the Royal Military College. Gwatkin warned Garter that the government might not concur with this proposal and a new one would then have to be made by the committee.[68] Gwatkin's letter seemed intended to placate Garter, but Mulvey had already requested a rendering embodying the changes described by Gwatkin from the Toronto architect and talented heraldic artist, Alexander Scott Carter. Mulvey was sending him Cobbs drawing to show how such details as the shape of the shield and mantle could be handled. He also sent him the printed copy of Champagne's rendering (fig. 8) with the caveat: "I may say that this lithograph was severely criticized because of its inartistic appearance. However this may be, the form was adopted in order to follow the Royal Arms as nearly as may be."[69]

A draft of a submission to His Excellency describing the revised arms was also prepared on April 19 for approval by the committee. Mulvey was now pressing Carter for a draft of the arms to attach to the submission.[70] He was obviously hopeful that the new design would be approved by the committee and that, with this approval, the matter of Canadian arms would be smoothly resolved. Carter sent his draft drawing at 9 p. m., on April 18, and expressed his disappointment that he was not given time to prepare finished art which required a week. He was asking that the sketches and instructions be returned as soon as possible to prepare a finished drawing.[71]

It is certain that while in England, Gwatkin had discussed Garter's opposition to the lilies of France and royal arms for Canada, but it seems that he did not fully understand the nature of Garter's opposition. Correspondence in Canada always mentions his objections in the vaguest of terms: "certain objections" or "objections of a technical nature." The revised arms being prepared by Carter were almost certainly devised by Gwatkin and endorsed by Mulvey to satisfy Gwatkin's promise to Garter. Pope, who had always pressed for the arms as they were designed by the committee and had been annoyed with Gwatkin's performance in England, could not have been party to the revisions. Although the committee rarely kept minutes of its meetings, we know that the Gwatkin-Mulvey proposal was rejected when it met on April 20.[72] This was to be expected since Pope wanted to include French heritage on the shield and the new design did not do this.

On April 26, Pope had the drawing of the committee's original proposal in hand. The maple leaves in base were red on a white field, something that, as we have seen, was not acceptable to Pope who reiterated his objections that the leaves formed "a blot on the whole blazon" and "that the symbol of a young country like Canada should speak of life and growth and vigour, rather than of decline, decay and approaching death."[73] The leaves were duly made green, perhaps by Fortunat Champagne. In comparison with the rest of the rendering, the whole base of the shield with the green leaves is roughly drawn and coloured. On April 28, the amended drawing with the green leaves was being circulated to members of the committee for their signatures (fig. 9).[74]

Fig. 9 Drawing of arms of Canada replicated on the 1921 Royal Proclamation, signed by members of the Arms Committee, inscribed: "Arms of Canada Final draft on which the Royal warrant was based." The base, which was reworked to make the maple leaves green rather than red, is crudely rendered in comparison with the rest of the drawing. Library and Archives Canada, photo C-3488.

A new report, dated April 28, was sent to his Excellency requesting the preparation of an order in council describing the arms of Canada as seen in figure 9. It referred to the previous order in council of 13 July 1920 and stated "that on account of certain objections of a technical nature raised by Garter King of Arms it is necessary to amend the said device."[75] In the report, the maple leaves were in base as requested by the king and described as green, as wanted by Pope, and the royal crown was above the crest as suggested by Gwatkin. The report of the Privy Council was approved by His Excellency on April 30, 1921.[76] However, none of the problems Garter had raised had been solved. From Garter's perspective, it was more of the same with a vengeance, although the report implied that his objections had been dealt with.

Several mysteries surround the arms as depicted in the latest drawing. It is important to know who the artist was because the colours chosen for the flag of Canada would be derived from the colours in the mantling of Canada's arms. The Gwatkin-Mulvey proposal had been rejected on Wednesday April 20, and on the 26th, the next Tuesday, Pope had the new rendering in hand. Could Carter have worked that fast? Although he was not particularly fond of creating cursory art, Carter was willing to do this if required. After sending a draft of the Gwatkin-Mulvey proposal, he was poised to do the finished art as soon as alerted. It is therefore entirely conceivable that he finished the second drawing on time as requested. It is important to know who made the drawing because the main colours in the arms, as reflected in the mantling, would determine Canada's colours, which would appear in its national flag.

A more perplexing problem concerns the rendering that is not in Carter's style, particularly the lion. This was pointed out by the outstanding Canadian heraldic artist Gordon Macpherson: "His lions are more distinctive and always very lean and hungry looking ..."[77] A comparison between figure 7 and figure 9 also makes this clear. On the other hand, the latest drawing (fig. 9) was done by a person with considerable skill as a heraldic artist and with a sound knowledge of heraldry. The question of royal arms had been discussed by the committee, but the insertion of a royal helmet (gold with 6 or 7 bars) had not. Inserting such a helmet was a judgement call which required a sense of what was appropriate. The mantling is difficult to draw and rendering it in such a way as to prevent obstruction by the two flags at the front requires even greater skill, especially within the very short time allotted. Placing tassels at the ends of the mantling is a conceit which would not be expected from an unschooled artist. Although the lion supporter is not in the usual lean and hungry style of Carter, it is too elaborate to have been done by an untrained person and, moreover, it is not derived from the royal arms of the United Kingdom where the lion looks at the spectator. Making the maple leaves red instead of green as wished by Pope and as depicted in Champagne's drawing (fig. 8) required a sense of colour as well as knowledge that the main colours on the shield usually appear in the mantling.

The logical artist to go to for a quick draft would have been Champagne who worked for the government, but his first drawing had proven unsatisfactory. If he were the author, some of his stylistic features such as the treatment of the lion and motto scroll (fig. 8), would surely have transpired in the second drawing (fig. 9). Another artist who could have done the work was
Chadwick, but we know from his correspondence that he was not involved. The services of Carter had already been enlisted and the members of the committee were not of the type to change horses in midstream.

Contrary to the first sketch done by Carter based on the Gwatkin-Mulvey proposal, I have not found a paper trail for the second drawing, which leaves open the possibility that the instructions were transmitted to Carter by telephone. These instructions may have been to revamp Champagne's drawing by introducing the new additions and changes. It is also to be expected that the members of the committee rejected the lean and hungry look as representing famine and poverty rather than abundance and prosperity, a reasoning which is in line with Pope's motives for changing the red leaves to green. Certainly when the arms of Canada were revised in 1923 to better reflect the desires of the committee, the lions in the arms were very well fed indeed (see chapter 6, figure 2). Because it was draft art, it is not surprising that Carter did not sign the drawing. Although sent to England, the rendering was always considered by members of the committee to be a draft serving as a guide for more finished art by the artists at the College of Arms.[78] In conclusion, Carter, who had the skill and knowledge and who was waiting for instructions to proceed is almost certainly the artist who produced the final drawing. The differences in style could be explained by the instructions he received and the fact that he was urgently required to produce a draft, not finished art, based on previous art by Champagne and Cobb.

On April 8, a telegram had been sent by Sir Winston Churchill, secretary of state for the colonies, to the governor general informing him that the chair of the speaker of the House of Commons would be shipped to Canada on May 11 and inquired "would it be possible to forward new design to arrive in time to permit of [sic] new arms, if approved by His Majesty, being engrossed on scroll before Speaker's departure for Canada on May 11th."[79] The chair was being offered to the Speaker of Canada's House of Commons by the Speaker of the British House, the Right Honourable James Lowther (afterwards Lord Ullswater) on behalf of the United Kingdom Branch of the Empire Parliamentary Association.[80] The speakers would be meeting in Quebec City and would travel together to Ottawa for the presentation ceremony.[81]

Pope saw there a wonderful opportunity to expedite the approval of the king. On April 29th, he cabled Sir George Perley:

"Government yesterday approved by Order-in-Council the amended design of Canadian Arms which are striking and effective. We have received several despatches recently from the Colonial Office urging that these Arms be made available for insertion on scroll accompanying the Speaker's chair which leaves England on eleventh May. A cabled description of these new arms in the technical language of heraldry was sent yesterday to Secretary of State for the Colonies. Suggest you see Colonial Office and endeavour there and in other influential quarters to expedite the issue of the Royal Warrant approving these Arms in time for their insertion on scroll. The subject has already been fully discussed with the Herald's College and certain amendments have been made to original design in deference to their suggestions. Our Government are not likely to agree to any further material changes."[82]

The committee had said previously in its report to His Excellency, that it had revised Canada's arms to take into account Garter's objection. It knew this statement not to be entirely exact. What Pope was now telling the king, through the high commissioner of Canada in London, concerning full discussions with the Herald's College was no doubt a reference to Gwatkin's discussions with Garter, which had solved nothing. Had the committee lied to the governor general and was now lying to the king through British officials?

The statement of the committee was twofold: 1) that they had fully discussed the proposed design with the College of Arms; 2) that they had made amendments to the original design on account of objections by Garter. The first one was true. They had discussed the matter with York, and Gwatkin had met Garter twice and had persuaded him to produce a drawing illustrating what he deemed acceptable. The second statement probably had some elements of truth. When the king expressed the wish that the maple leaves be placed below those of the arms of the United Kingdom, it was likely on the advice of Garter, whose mandate it was to advise the sovereign of such matters. Members of the committee definitely held the view that by giving the leaves an inferior position, they had responded to the objections of Garter.[83] Of course the committee knew that Garter's concerns went further, but had not received any formal communication from him on the matter. It did not know the reasons behind Garter's opposition, and Gwatkin's trip to London had not shed much light on the matter. Moreover, Garter's objections were also viewed as trivial by Milner who had thought them too minor to make them known to the governor general.

There is little doubt that the committee was first seeking the approval of the king so that Garter's objections would be overridden. Pope had learned from Lee that Burke would not allow them royal arms for Canada and had stated that their "only chance of success lies in indirect methods" which may require pulling "every wire." Another aspect is worth mentioning, the committee had never asked in formal correspondence that Canada be granted royal arms, although they viewed the arms as being exactly that. The report of the Privy Council of April 30 approved by the governor general did not specify royal arms. It merely asked that the arms as described in heraldic language be granted.

What the committee members were challenging was Garter's authority to refuse Canada the arms it wanted, and they surely felt that the Principal King of Arms was treating them like a distant colony. They did not want Garter to interfere with the king's approval. They felt that the sovereign had every right to approve royal arms for Canada and that, once this was done, Burke's dubious objections would have to be set aside. The whole scheme to have the king sign would probably have failed if some British officials, such as the colonial secretary Milner, had not supported the Canadian cause.

On May 10, Churchill cabled the governor general that the design had been approved by His Majesty, but that the warrant (granting document) would not be issued until the order-in-council approved by the governor general on April 30 and the drawing, which was signed by members of the committee, reached England by mail (fig. 9).[84]

As we have seen in chapter 3, Canadians had expressed their desire to have the royal crown in their arms by placing it without authorization above the Dominion shield. They also wanted strong Canadian content by adding around the shield branches of maple and a beaver on a log. European heritage was expressed by the numerous St. George crosses, British lions and the fleurs-de-lis of France in the individual arms on the shield. Proposals sent to the committee had adopted the same approach which was also that of Gwatkin and Garter, which Mulvey also favoured at one point. On the other hand, Joseph Pope was adamant that he wanted the arms as originally designed by the committee. Both philosophies were seeking a status beyond colonialism for Canada, one by giving Canadian values more prominence while retaining ties with the Crown, the other by promoting greater integration with the Crown and empire and complete equality of British citizenship between the inhabitants of England and those of Canada.[85]

After the approval of the committee's design by the king, one could expect clear sailing for the grant of arms to the country. We will see how this unfolded in the next chapter.

LAC = Library and Archives Canada

RG 6 = Secretary of State Papers

[[1]] LAC, RG 6, A1, vol. 210, file 1156, part 1, pp. 291-92, Minutes of the Committee..., 3 April 1919.

[2] Maurice Pope ed., Public Servant: the Memoirs of Sir Joseph Pope (Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1960), pp. 282-83.

[3] LAC, RG 6, A1, vol. 210, file 1156, part 1, p. 271, Gwatkin to Mulvey, 3 April 1919.

[4] Ibid., pp. 225-31, Todd to Hamilton, 22 May 1919.

[5] Ibid., p. 251, Todd to Mulvey, 19 April 1919.

[6] This has been expressed as follows: "For those who think heraldic drawing easy, there is a surprise in store. In fact, till we come to try it, we do not realise how very difficult it is, and a few trials will vastly increase our admiration of the work of the old heralds and designers. Their skill in drawing and resource in design were the results of long practice and training. The seemingly child-like simplicity of those conventional birds and animals which fill the shield so happily was not acquired at once. It reflects a process of refinement in thought and a stripping of non-essentials in design only to be found in things which perfectly fit their purpose." Herbert Cole, Heraldry Decoration and Floral Forms (New York: Crescent Books, 1988), p. 44.

[7] LAC, RG 6, A1, vol. 210, file 1156, part 1, pp. 88-89, 170-71, 177-78, 188-91.

[8] Ibid., clipping from Mail and Empire, 19 February 1919.

[9] John Alexander Stewart is author of The Arms of Nova Scotia (Glasgow: St. Andrew Society, 1921).

[10] LAC, RG 6, A1, vol. 210, file 1156, part 1, pp. 188-91, Stewart to Heriot, 4 March 1919.

[11] Ibid., pp. 194-96, Heriot to the Committee, April 22, 1919.The illustration accompanies this letter. Heriot's views are outlined at greater length in chapter 4. Both the unicorn and the arms of Scotland will appear in the arms granted to Canada in 1921.

[12] Ibid., pp. 154-55, Stewart to Heriot, 22 May 1919.

[13] Ibid., pp.156-57, Heriot to the Committee, 11 June 1919. He seems to be referring to the fact that James VI of Scotland was also James I of England. James I belonged to the House of Stuart, while King George V belonged to the House of Windsor.

[14] Ibid., pp. 217-18, Kipling to Perley, 10 April 1919.

[15] Ibid., pp. 220-24, Memorandum for the Secretary of State, n.d.

[16] Ibid., pp. 144-47, Lee to Pope, 13 June 1919.

[17] Ibid., p. 123, Doughty to Mulvey, 1 September 1919.

[18] Ibid., p. 122, Gwatkin to Mulvey, 7 September 1919.

[19] Ibid., p. 121, Gwatkin to Mulvey, 12 September1919.

[20] In conversation with the author, the well known Canadian heraldist, Alan Beddoe, used the expression "Canada's badge of courage" to refer to the red maple leaf held by the lion in Canada's crest, obviously based on Stephen Crane's American Civil War novel The Red Badge of Courage.

[21] The royal arms as borne by the monarch are arms of sovereignty or dominion rather than family arms. In other words they represent the territory over which the sovereign has dominion. The arms are also born by the royal family with appropriate marks of difference.

[22] LAC, RG 6, A1, vol. 210, file 1156, part 1, pp.102-110, Report of the Committee, 14 October 1919.

[23] Ibid., pp. 84-85, Chadwick to Mulvey, 4 December 1919.

[24] Ibid., pp. 82-83, Mulvey to Chadwick, 6 December 1919.

[25] He is no doubt thinking of the Winged Victory of Samothrace, also called the Nike of Samothrace now on display in the Louvre.

[26] LAC, RG 6, A1, vol. 210, file 1156, part 1, pp. 63-81, Chadwick to Mulvey, 8, 9, 18, 24 and 31 December 1919 and 8 January 1920.

[27] Ibid., p. 60. Lee to Pope, 16 January 1920.

[28] Ibid., pp. 61-62, Doughty to Mulvey, 27 January 1920.

[29] Ibid., pp. 25-26, Lee to Pope, 22 March 1920.

[30] Ibid., p. 34, Pope to Mulvey, 8 April 1920.

[31] Ibid., p. 49, Gwatkin to Mulvey, 10 April 1920.

[32] Ibid., p. 48, Gwatkin to Mulvey, 11 April 1920.

[33] Ibid., p. 30, Mulvey to Gwatkin, 13 April 1920.

[34] Ibid., pp. 43-45, Report of Committee, n.d.

[35] Ibid., pp. 310, 309, Pope to Mulvey, 4 November 1921; Mulvey to Pope, 8 November 1921.

[36] Ibid., p. 28, Gwatkin to Mulvey, 16 April 1920.

[37] Ibid., p. 23, Pope to Mulvey, 17 April 1920.

[38] Ibid., p. 18, Mulvey to Pope, 25 May 1920.

[39] Ibid., p. 5, Mulvey to Gwatkin, 26 June 1920.

[40] Ibid., part 2, pp. 286-87, Department of the Secretary of State of Canada to His Excellency, 7 July 1920.

[41] Ibid., pp. 267-68, Certified copy of a Report of the Committee of the Privy Council, approved by His Excellency the Governor General on the 13th July, 1920.

[42] "... a truly heraldic lion of the best phase of heraldry is not a naturalistic beast at all. His body is purposely attenuated, his claws, tongue and tail purposely exaggerated, for the reason that he was thus more easily recognized at a distance, on the field of battle, as a symbol of lion-like strength, courage and ferocity than a close copy by a realistic painter would have been. ... And in the most admirable period of heraldry ... we have these essential principles expressed by the mediæval heralds in a manner never since excelled. ... With the rise of purely pictorial art the decay set in." Cole, Heraldry Decoration and Floral Forms, p. 8.

[43] LAC, RG 6, A1, vol. 210, file 1156, part 1, p. 270, Robertson to Mulvey, 8 July 1920.

[44] Ibid., p. 262, Mulvey to Chadwick, 16 July 1920.

[45] Ibid., pp. 258-59, Chadwick to Mulvey, 20 July 1920.

[46] Ibid., p. 257, Mulvey to Chadwick, 23 July 1920.

[47] Ibid., part 2, p. 47, Athill to Whitney, 25 July 1907.

[48] Stewart, Arms of Nova Scotia, p. 38.

[49] See text of letters patent in Canada Gazette, 24 April 1909.

[50] LAC, RG 6, A1, vol. 210, file 1156, part 2, pp. 250-52, Chadwick to Mulvey, 26 July 1920.

[51] Ibid., p. 243, Pope to Mulvey, 28 July 1920.

[52] Ibid., p. 255, Mulvey to Scott-Gatty, 21 July 1920.

[53] Ibid., p. 238, Pope to Mulvey, 24 August 1920.

[54] Ibid., p. 228, Gwatkin to Pope, 30 August 1920.

[55] Ibid., p. 227, Gwatkin to Pope, 1 September 1920.

[56] Ibid., part 1, pp.158-59.

[57] Ibid., part 2, pp. 229-33, Mulvey to Kipling, 9 September 1920.

[58] Ibid., p. 204, Kipling to Mulvey, 13 October 1920.

[59] Ibid., pp. 209, 219, Gwatkin to Mulvey, 23 September 1920; Gwatkin to Cobb, 29 September 1920.

[60] Ibid., p. 205, Burke to Mulvey, 13 October 1920.

[61] Ibid., pp. 196-97, Milner to Devonshire, 19 November 1920.

[62] Ibid., p. 199, Telegram, Milner to Devonshire, 18 November 1920.

[63] Ibid., p. 198, Pope to Mulvey, 19 November 1920.

[64] Ibid., p. 186, Gwatkin to Mulvey, 15 December 1920.

[65] Ibid., p. 172, Gwatkin to Mulvey, 25 January 1921. The blue flag with the white cross was for many years that of the French merchant marine and will form an important element of the flag of the province of Quebec.

[66] Ibid., p. 171, Mulvey to Gwatkin, 27 January 1921.

[67] Ibid., p. 148, Burke to Gwatkin, 4 March 1921.

[68] Ibid., p. 146, Gwatkin to Burke, 24 March 1921.

[69] Ibid., p. 168, Mulvey to Carter, 2 February 1921.

[70] Ibid., p. 120, telegram of Mulvey to Carter, 18 April 1921.

[71] Ibid., p. 119, Carter to Mulvey, 19 April 1921.

[72] Ibid., part 3, pp.164-65, Mulvey to Doughty, 12 January 1922.

[73] Ibid., part 2, p. 214, Pope to Mulvey, 26 April 1921.

[74] Ibid., p. 112, Mulvey to Doughty, 28 April 1921.

[75] Ibid., pp.109-10, Report of committee to His Excellency, 28 April 1921.

[76] Ibid., pp. 107-108, Certified copy of a Report of the Committee of the Privy Council approved by His Excellency the Governor General on the 30th April, 1921.

[77] Email from Gordon Macpherson to A. Vachon, 19 January 2014.

[78] Pope, Public Servant, Memoirs Sir Joseph Pope, p. 283; LAC, RG 6, A1, vol. 210, file 1156, part 4, pp. 47-49, Report by Mulvey, Department of Secretary of State, 5 January 1925.

[79] LAC, RG 6, A1, vol. 210, file 1156, part 2, pp. 141-42, Churchill to Devonshire, 8 April 1921; Pope to Mulvey, 9 April 1921

[80] Pope, Public Servant, Memoirs Sir Joseph Pope, p. 284, n. 1.

[81] LAC, RG 6, A1, vol. 210, file 1156, part 2, pp. 86-87, Perley to Pope, 18 May 1921.

[82] Ibid., p. 106, Pope to Mulvey, 30 April 1921.

[83] Ibid., p. 48, Mulvey to Chadwick, 15 August 1921.

[84] Ibid., p. 98, Churchill to Devonshire, 10 May 1921.

[85] At the time, Canadians were British subjects; they became Canadian citizens with the Canadian Citizenship Act of 1947.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Martin Burrell, secretary of state, and Thomas Mulvey, under-secretary of state, prepared a report dated 19 February 1919 which recommended the appointment of a committee to study "the advisability of requesting His Majesty the King, through the College of Heralds, for an amendment to the Armorial Bearings of Canada."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Arms of Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada
(Armoiries de Sa Majesté la Reine du chef du Canada)

Armiger

Elizabeth II in Right of Canada

Adopted

19 November 1921, last revised 12 July 1994[1]

Crest

Upon a Royal helmet, a lion passant guardant or imperially crowned proper and holding in the dexter paw a maple leaf Gules.

Torse

Argent and gules, the mantling gules doubled argent.

Blazon

Tierced in fess, the first and second divisions containing the quarterly coat following, namely, 1st Gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or, 2nd, Or a lion rampant within a double tressure flory-counter-flory Gules, 3rd, Azure a harp Or stringed Argent, 4th, Azure three fleurs-de-lis Or, and the third division being Argent three maple leaves conjoined on one stem proper.

Supporters

Dexter: a lion Or holding a lance Argent, point Or, flying therefrom to the Dexter the Royal Union Flag, Sinister: a unicorn Argent armed, crined and unguled Or, gorged with a coronet composed of crosses-patée and fleurs-de-lis a chain affixed thereto and reflexed Or, holding a like lance flying therefrom to the sinister a banner Azure charged with three fleurs-de-lis Or.

Compartment

A wreath of roses, thistles, shamrocks and lilies proper.

Motto

Latin: A Mari usque ad Mare, lit. 'from sea to sea'

Order(s)

The ribbon of the Order of Canada (Latin: Desiderantes meliorem patriam, lit. 'they desire a better country')

Other elements

The whole ensigned by the Royal Crown proper.

Earlier version(s)
Arms of Canada, revised 1957

The Arms of Canada (French: armoiries du Canada), also known as the Royal Coat of Arms of Canada (French: armoiries royales du Canada) or formally as the Arms of Her Majesty The Queen in Right of Canada ( French: Armoiries de Sa Majesté la Reine du chef du Canada), is, since 1921, the official coat of arms of the Canadian monarch and thus also of Canada. It is closely modelled after the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom with French and distinctive Canadian elements replacing or added to those derived from the British version.

The maple leaves in the shield, blazoned "proper", were originally drawn vert (green) but were redrawn gules (red) in 1957 and a circlet of the Order of Canada was added to the arms for limited use in 1987. The shield design forms the monarch's royal standard and is also found on the Canadian Red Ensign. The Flag of the Governor General of Canada, which formerly used the shield over the Union Flag, now uses the crest of the arms on a blue field.

The arms are embossed on the covers of Canadian passports, in order to legally signify and symbolize that the bearer is travelling under the aid of the Crown of Canada.

Prior to Confederation in 1867, the Royal Arms of the United Kingdom served in Canada as the symbol of royal authority. Arms had not been granted to any of the colonies in British North America, apart from 17th-century grants to Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. The year after Confederation, arms were granted by Royal Warrant on 26 May 1868 to Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia (that Nova Scotia had been granted arms was forgotten, and it took until 1929 for the historic arms granted in the 17th century to be reinstated) and New Brunswick. In the Royal Warrant of 1868, Queen Victoria authorized the four arms of the first provinces to be quartered for use on the Great Seal of Canada and while this was not done for the first Great Seal, it is through this reference it became the de facto arms for Canada until 1921. That is why it was in this form Canada was represented on the first Red Ensign carried by Canadian troops at Vimy Ridge in 1917.

A shield of arms first quartered and then, over time, as more provinces and territories joined Canada, marshalled with the arms of the new members of Confederation emerged through popular and even Canadian governmental usage. This eventually resulted in a shield with nine quarterings, an arrangement that had never been approved by the monarch.

Nine quarterings on a shield was considered too complex for a national symbol and by 1915 a push had begun to design a new coat of arms for Canada. A committee was formed in 1919 to pursue the issue, eventually agreeing that the elements of the new arms would reference the Royal Arms of England, Ireland, Scotland, and France, with maple leaves representing Canada, though there was at the time no consensus on how the leaves were to be used. The decision was settled by 1920, and the committee conferred with the College of Arms in London, only to face resistance to the use of the Royal Arms from the Garter King of Arms. After some manoeuvring, including the personal intervention of Winston Churchill, the new arms of Canada were eventually formally requested by an Order in Council on 30 April 1921 and adopted on 21 November of the same year by proclamation of King George V as the Arms or Ensigns Armorial of the Dominion of Canada. The new layout closely reflected the arms of the United Kingdom with the addition of maple leaves in the base and the reference to the French royal arms in the fourth quarter. The proclamation also established white and red as the national colours of Canada.

In 1931, with the passage of the Statute of Westminster, Canada and other Dominions became fully sovereign from the United Kingdom. This had the effect of elevating the Canadian coat of arms, which had been granted as deputed arms for particular uses in a colony, to the status of the royal arms of the King in right of the country, for general purposes throughout the country. They thus replaced the British coat of arms, which had previously been arms of general purpose throughout the British Empire, in court rooms and on government buildings to represent the ruling monarch. This change can be seen in the Great Seal of Canada of George VI, where the royal arms of Canada replaced the British arms, and is even more evident in the Great Seal of Canada for Elizabeth II, where the title has been redefined as Queen of Canada. These are the coat of arms of the Queen of Canada.

By 1957, the arms were redrawn by Alan Beddoe so as to have red leaves and to change the royal crown from one of a Tudor design to one more resembling St. Edward's Crown, as preferred by Queen Elizabeth II. To mark the 1982 patriation of the Canadian constitution, which finally ended the last vestiges of British authority over Canada, a McGill University student named Bruce Hicks proposed to Secretary of State Gerald Regan that the motto of the Order of Canada be placed around the shield in order to bring these royal arms into line with other royal arms, many of which have been displayed in Canada during French, Scottish, and English colonisation, where those countries' highest national order of honour appears around the shield of the arms (the British arms displayed the Order of the Garter, the Scottish royal arms the Order of the Thistle, and the royalist arms of the French Regime the Order of the Holy Spirit and Order of Saint Michael). While unsuccessful in this first attempt, Hicks continued his campaign and was joined by a number of other amateur and professional heraldists. As a journalist in the parliamentary press gallery in Ottawa in the late 1980s and early 90s, Hicks strategically recast the change as something worth doing to commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the Order of Canada in 1992, an idea that was endorsed by the Advisory Committee on the Order of Canada.

It took until 1994 for the Queen to approve the new design for general use, though the Canadian Heraldic Authority began to allow for its limited use beginning in 1987, where the arms were used to represent the Queen personally on letters patent granting new arms for distinguished Canadians. These letters patent carried the shield from the royal arms along with the annulus behind the shield bearing the motto of the Order of Canada- Desiderantes meliorem patriam. As soon as royal approval was forthcoming, the full achievement was redesigned for use by the federal government within the Federal Identity Program. The present design of the arms of Canada was drawn by Cathy Bursey-Sabourin, Fraser Herald at the Canadian Heraldic Authority.

In June 2008, Member of Parliament Pat Martin introduced a motion into the House of Commons of Canada calling on the government to amend the coat of arms to incorporate symbols representing Canada's First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples.

Armorial evolution

The arms of Canada are the arms of the sovereign and signify national sovereignty and ownership. They are used as a mark of authority by various government agencies and representatives, including the prime minister and Cabinet, and most courts, including the Supreme Court, as well as the Canadian Armed Forces and Royal Canadian Mounted Police. It is also present on all pre-polymer denominations of Canadian banknotes (in fact, the way the arms were printed on each bill is a security feature), as well as the 50¢ coin, and on the cover of Canadian passports. Since 1962, a banner of the arms, defaced with a variant of the Queen's cypher, has formed the sovereign's standard for Canada, for use by the Queen in her capacity as monarch of Canada. Since, six additional standards for use by other members of the Canadian Royal Family have been created.

In the Canadian Armed Forces and Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the most senior non-commissioned ranks wear the 1957 version of the coat of arms as a badge of rank, representing the fact that they have received the Queen's warrant (as opposed |to the Queen's commission for officers). The revised 1957 and 1994 Arms of Canada are both protected official government symbols used to represent the state under the Federal Identity Program. Permanent resident cards issued from 2015 feature a holographic representation of the 1957 version of the coat of arms.

The full achievement of the coat of arms has been used by the Canadian government on occasion on a plain red flag, such as in 1967 for the country's centennial celebrations.

It is also used on a flag in its full achievement in military ceremonies, such as Canadian Armed Forces Tattoo performances.

The personal flag of the Governor General has, since 1981, featured the crest of the royal arms of Canada on a blue background.

In response to a new campaign by Bruce Hicks for the Canadian Parliament to have a distinct heraldic symbols along the lines of the portcullis (variations of which are used by the Commons and Lords in the British Parliament), a proposal that was supported by Speakers of the House of Commons John Fraser and Gilbert Parent, a Commons committee was eventually struck following a motion by MP Derek Lee, before which Hicks and Robert Watt, the first Chief Herald of Canada, were called as the only two expert witnesses, though Senator Serge Joyal joined the committee ex-officio on behalf of the Senate. Commons' Speaker Peter Milliken then asked the Canadian Heraldic Authority to authorize such a symbol and, on 15 February 2008, the Governor General authorized the House of Commons to begin using a badge of the shield of the royal arms superimposed on the ceremonial mace assigned to the House of Commons as a symbol of the royal authority under which it operates. Following the Commons example, the Senate then requested and obtained on 15 April 2008 a similar badge for itself with the shield of the royal arms surmounted on the mace assigned to the Senate.

The heraldic blazon of Canada's coat of arms, as declared in the 1921 proclamation, is:

Tierced in fesse the first and second divisions containing the quarterly coat following, namely, 1st, gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or, 2nd, Or a lion rampant within a double tressure flory-counter-flory gules, 3rd, azure a harp Or stringed argent, 4th, azure, three fleurs-de-lis Or, and the third division argent three maple leaves conjoined on one stem proper. And upon a royal helmet mantled argent doubled gules the crest, that is to say, on a wreath of the colours argent and gules a lion passant guardant Or imperially crowned proper and holding in the dexter paw a maple leaf gules. And for supporters on the dexter a lion rampant Or holding a lance argent, point Or, flying therefrom to the dexter the Union Flag, and on the sinister a unicorn argent armed crined and unguled Or, gorged with a coronet composed of crosses-patée and fleurs-de-lis a chain affixed thereto reflexed of the last, and holding a like lance flying therefrom to the sinister a banner azure charged with three fleurs-de-lis Or; the whole ensigned with the Imperial Crown proper and below the shield upon a wreath composed of roses, thistles, shamrocks and lillies a scroll azure inscribed with the motto A mari usque ad mare.

The circlet of the Order of Canada was added around the shield for limited use in 1987, and for general use in 1994.

Crown

The coat of arms are surmounted by a rendition of St. Edward's Crown, which has been used in the coronations of Canada's monarchs. This element represents Canada's status as a constitutional monarchy headed by a sovereign king or queen. This style of crown is that preferred by Queen Elizabeth II, and was modernized in 1957 from the 1921 design, which used the Tudor crown.

Crest

The crest is based on the Royal Crest of the United Kingdom but differenced by the addition of a maple leaf, and symbolizes the sovereignty of Canada. It appears on the flag of the Governor-General, symbolizing that the Governor General is a representative of the Sovereign. The crest consists of a crowned gold lion standing on a twisted wreath of red and white silk and holding a maple leaf in its right paw.

Helm

The arms show a royal helmet, which is a barred helm of gold embossed with a maple leaf design looking outward, with mantling of white and red, stylized in the official version to look like maple leaves.

Escutcheon

The escutcheon is divided into five sections. The first division at the viewer's top left contains the three golden lions that have been a symbol of England since at least the reign of King Richard I. The second quarter bears the red lion rampant of Scotland in a double tressure border with fleurs-de-lis, used as a symbol of Scotland since at least the reign of William I. The third quarter shows the Irish harp of Tara. The gold fleurs-de-lis of royal France, the first post- medieval European emblem raised in Canada by Jacques Cartier, during his landing at Gaspé, fill the fourth quarter.

The fifth charge, a sprig of red maple leaves at the bottom, is a distinctly Canadian symbol that became gradually identified with the country throughout the 19th century. They were first proposed as a symbol in 1834, were established in 1868 on the arms of Quebec and Ontario and officially became the national emblem in 1965, with the proclamation of the Flag of Canada. Initially, the leaves were depicted as coloured green on the coat of arms because it was thought to represent youth, as opposed to the red colour of dying leaves in autumn. However, they are blazoned as "proper", so could be shown as either red or green, and it is the blazon, rather than any depiction, which is regarded as authoritative. The leaves were later redrawn in official depictions in 1957 with the current colour to be in line with the official colours of Canada. They are further stylized in that natural maple leaves do not grow in sprigs of three. The shield forms the basis of the royal standard of Canada.

Ribbon

The ribbon is marked desiderantes meliorem patriam, meaning "desiring a better country," which is the motto of the Order of Canada, taken from Hebrews 11:16. This component was added by the Queen in 1987 on the advice of her Prime Minister. With the patriation of oversight of arms to Canada through the Canadian Heraldic Authority the following year, the constitution of the Order of Canada was amended to include entitlement by all recipients to encircle their own arms with the ribbon, if arms are granted to them. Since 1994 the arms used by government ministers and institutions have slowly changed to reflect the new version with the ribbon.

Motto

The motto of Canada is in Latin a mari usque ad mare (From sea to sea), a part of Psalm 72:8. This phrase was suggested by Joseph Pope, then-Under Secretary of State, when the Arms were redesigned in 1921. The motto was originally used in 1906 on the head of the mace of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan.

In March 2006, the premiers of Canada's three territories called for the amendment of the motto to better reflect the vast geographic nature of Canada's territory, as Canada has coastlines on the Arctic, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans. Two suggestions for a new motto are A mari ad mare ad mare (from sea to sea to sea) and A mari usque ad maria (from the sea to the other seas).

Supporters

Supporting the shield on either side are the English lion and Scottish unicorn, which are also the supporters of the UK coat of arms. The English lion stands on the viewer's left and holds a gold-pointed silver lance flying the Union Flag. The Scottish unicorn has a gold horn, a gold mane, gold hooves, and around its neck a gold, chained coronet of crosses and fleurs-de-lis; it holds a lance flying the three gold fleurs-de-lis of royal France on a blue background. Unlike the British version, the lion is not crowned, nor is it facing the viewer. The broken chain on the unicorn symbolizes the unicorn's resistance to oppression.

Compartment

The entire coat of arms rests on the compartment, which is made up of the floral emblems of the founding nations. The Tudor rose is the floral badge of England and Wales, combining the White Rose of York and the Red Rose of Lancaster. The thistle and shamrock are the symbols of Scotland and Ireland, respectively, while the fleur-de-lis has been the royal symbol of France since the 12th century.

As the Royal Arms are personal to the sovereign they cannot be used without consent. The coat of arms "as designed in 1921 and revised in 1957...(and) in 1994" are "protected under the Trade-marks Act and the Copyright Act and cannot be used or reproduced without authorization". Further, "Marks and designs similar to the official symbols are pursued as a copyright or trade-mark infringement". The Trade-marks Act further states that "No person shall adopt in connection with a business, as a trade-mark or otherwise, any mark consisting of, or so nearly resembling as to be likely to be mistaken for... the arms, crest or flag adopted and used at any time by Canada". In addition, under Crown copyright, "permission is always required when the work is being revised, adapted, or translated regardless if the purpose of the reproduction is for personal or public non-commercial distribution".

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Arms of Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada (Armoiries de Sa Majesté la Reine du chef du Canada) Armiger Elizabeth II in Right of Canada Adopted 19 November 1921, last revised 12 July 1994[1] Crest Upon a Royal helmet, a lion passant guardant or imperially crowned proper and holding in the dexter paw a maple leaf Gules.

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Arms & Badges - Royal Arms of Canada, A Brief History

The Confederation of Canada

To the left is the Royal Cypher of Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, Queen of Canada and all her other realms. Queen Victoria was the first Monarch of the confederation of provinces that became known as the Dominion of Canada on July 1, 1867.

The Royal Arms of the United Kingdom (quartering the arms of England, Scotland and Ireland) were the essential symbol of royal authority in Canada at this period and into the twentieth century.

Prior to Confederation, no armorial bearings had been assigned to the various colonies in British North America, with the exception of the seventeenth-century grants to Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. Nevertheless, each colony possessed a great seal, and these contained distinctive emblematic devices. Two examples are shown here, both representing the obverse sides of the great seals deputed of Upper Canada (image on the right, above) and Lower Canada (image on the right, below), in use on successive seals from 1792 to 1832. The images illustrated here are actually carvings in the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa.

The Four Founding Provinces

The Confederation of Canada was created by an Act of the British Parliament and given Royal Assent by Queen Victoria. Each of the four founding provinces was then granted arms by Royal Warrant on May 6, 1868. This document also assigned to Canada as a whole the arms of the four provinces quartered together on one shield: Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The arms of Nova Scotia were an entirely different design from those assigned c.1625, and which were reinstituted in 1928.

Additional provinces and territories joined Canada in the years following Confederation, and there was a natural desire to augment the original arms with additional quarterings. Versions of these arms appeared that used five, seven, and finally nine quarterings. In many cases these were not legal arms but rather devices based on the provincial seal or assumed arms. This situation was largely rectified in the period 1905-1907, when arms were formally granted to no fewer than five provinces. Nevertheless, a shield made of nine quarterings was impossibly complex as a national symbol, and proposals for an entirely new design for the arms of Canada started to appear.

It is important to note that these versions were unofficial designs. Until 1921, the quartered arms of the first four provinces continued to be the only legally sanctioned coat of arms for the Dominion of Canada. Nevertheless, the multi-quartered versions were very popular, and were widely used on porcelain, post cards, and red ensigns, particularly in the first few years of the 20th century.

Post Cards from Canada

The first post card on the left (1905) shows the arms of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, followed by the devices used by Manitoba (which differs from the granted arms by the bison running instead of standing), British Columbia (a non-armorial design; the postcard is out-of-date in that BC stopped using this device in 1896), and Prince Edward Island (which differs from the granted arms by the lack of the chief). The second card on the right (1907) shows nine quarterings: Ontario, a device designed for (but never used by) the Yukon Territory, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, Saskatchewan (with the chief erroneously tinctured argent rather than or), Nova Scotia, British Columbia, and New Brunswick. Alberta did not use arms until 1907, sometime after the card was designed.

The Coat of Arms

Because these arrangements were so cluttered, they were found to be completely unsatisfactory. Thus, a coat of arms was formally assigned to the Dominion of Canada by Royal Proclamation in 1921, as shown below.

It was decided to make the arms of Canada (or, more properly, the Arms of His/Her Majesty in Right of Canada) very similar to those of Great Britain. The shield was divided into four quarters, with the first three being identical to those in the British Arms: Gules, three lions passant guardant Or, for England; Or, a lion rampant within a double tressure flory-counter-flory all Gules, for Scotland; and Azure, a harp Or stringed Argent, for Ireland. Although these quarters appear in the British arms to represent the fact that these nations are part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, their appearance in the Canadian Arms is meant to represent the fact that these are three of the founding peoples of Canada. The fourth quarter, Azure, three fleurs-de-lys or, of course represents Royal France, thus symbolizing the foundation of Canada by France.

In the base of the shield was placed a sprig of three maple leaves to represent Canada. It has been theorized that three leaves were chosen to represent the three founding peoples -- French, British, and First Nations -- but it is much more likely that three was chosen because a sprig of three fits elegantly into the space of a shield (see the similar sprigs in Ontario and Quebec). There was some disagreement about the colour of the leaves: Prime Minister Borden thought that the leaves should be red, since maple leaves are most distinctive when red, while the College of Arms thought that they should be green, to signify a young, growing country. A compromise was reached: the leaves were described as "proper", which basically means that they were to be leaf-coloured. Since maple leaves can properly be red, green, or gold, depending on the time of year, it is correct to show them either way.

As supporters, the lion and the unicorn from the British arms were recruited, and differenced by having them hold flags: the English lion holds the Union Jack, while the Scottish unicorn holds the banner of Royal France. Some people mistakenly take the chains worn by the unicorn to signify that the Francophones of Canada are conquered and oppressed, which is untrue. The chains actually signify that the unicorn cannot be oppressed, since the chains are broken and, if reattached to anything, will be broken again. The unicorn with the chain has been used as a Scottish royal symbol since long before the union with England.

The crest is also based on the British one, with the addition of the maple leaf held by the lion. A gold helm of sovereignty and the Royal Crown are also used.

The compartment is a bed of the floral emblems of the four founding nations: the English rose, the Scottish thistle, the Irish shamrock, and the French lily. The motto means "From Sea to Sea", and is taken from Psalm 72: "He shall have dominion from sea to sea".

In 1957, the arms were redrawn to have red leaves, as Borden had intended. This rendition was made by Alan Beddoe, the Founder of the Heraldry Society of Canada, and it became very familiar to Canadians as the version used by the Government of Canada until the mid-1990s. This version also changed the design of the Royal Crown from the "Tudor Crown" depiction used for the previous half-century to one with depressed arches that more closely resembles the actual St. Edward's Crown. Upon her accession, the present Queen indicated her preference for the latter depiction.

Arms:
Tierced in fess: the first two divisions containing the quarterly coat following, namely, 1st Gules three lions passant guardant in pale or, 2nd, Or a lion rampant within a double tressure flory-counter-flory Gules, 3rd, Azure a harp or stringed Argent, 4th, Azure, three fleurs-de-lis Or, and the third division Argent three maple leaves conjoined on one stem proper.

Crest:
Upon a Royal helmet mantled argent doubled Gules the Crest, that is to say, On a wreath of the colours Argent and Gules a lion passant guardant or imperially crowned proper and holding in the dexter paw a maple leaf Gules.

Supporters:
On the dexter a lion rampant or holding a lance Argent, point or, flying therefrom to the dexter the Union Flag, and on the sinister A unicorn Argent armed crined and unguled or, gorged with a coronet composed of crosses-patée and fleurs-de-lis a chain affixed thereto reflexed of the last, and holding a like lance flying therefrom to the sinister a banner Azure charged with three fleurs-de-lis Or; the whole ensigned with the Imperial Crown proper.

Source:
College of Arms, London, November 21, 1921.

The present design of the arms of Canada was drawn by Cathy Bursey-Sabourin, Fraser Herald at the Canadian Heraldic Authority, and was approved by H.M. the Queen, on the advice of the Prime Minister of Canada, on July 12, 1994. It includes a new element: an annulus behind the shield bearing the motto of the Order of Canada, Desiderantes Meliorem Patriam ("They desire a better country"). This excellent yet minor addition provoked a great deal of debate (excerpts from Hansard Debates can be found here, which demonstrated a thorough misunderstanding of heraldry by our parliamentarians.

This version has gradually replaced the Beddoe rendition as the one used by the federal government. The use of these arms by the government is determined by the Treasury Board Secretariat through its Federal Identity Program. Generally speaking, the arms of Canada are used by Cabinet ministers, Members of Parliament and Senators, and the federal judiciary.

For detailed descriptions of each of the components of the arms, click here.

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Arms & Badges - Royal Arms of Canada, A Brief History

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To the left is the Royal Cypher of Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, Queen of Canada and all her other realms. Queen Victoria was the first Monarch of the confederation of provinces that became known as the Dominion of Canada on July 1, 1867.

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Canada's coat of arms was adopted by royal proclamation 100 years ago, and some say it's overdue for a redesign.

Nunavut's new MP, Lori Idlout, said she was asked by the Capital Current, a Carleton University student journalism publication, about updating the coat of arms to be more representative of First Nations, Inuit and Métis, and expressed her support for it.

"It's not an initiative that I'm leading. It's something that I've responded to and that I completely support because it is important to start acknowledging the territories that we are on in Canada," she told CBC.

Idlout is the NDP's critic for Indigenous Services, Northern Affairs and Crown-Indigenous Relations. She said that "because of how Canada came to be, and how there's always been First Nations, Métis and Inuit on these lands, we need to make sure that they're incorporated into the coat of arms."

Canadian Heraldic Authority, the group responsible for coats of arms, flags and badges, said changing Canada's coat of arms is up to the federal government, which would determine the process and who would take part in it.

In an emailed statement, the authority said the process "would be informed by efforts of reconciliation and collaboration with Indigenous peoples in Canada."

The heraldic authority would play an "important role" and would contribute "its experience in incorporating Indigenous elements into heraldic designs," it said.

The federal Department of Canadian Heritage did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Adopted by royal proclamation in 1921

Canada's coat of arms was adopted by proclamation of King George V in on Nov. 21, 1921, and primarily reflects colonizing European nations.

It shows a shield with maple leaves and symbols representing the "founding nations" of Canada: three royal lions for England, one for Scotland, the royal fleur-de-lis of France and royal harp of Ireland. Flanking the shield are a lion of England holding the Union Jack and Scotland's unicorn holding the flag of royal France.

The coat of arms also bears a crown and Canada's official motto: A Mari Usque Ad Mare, a Latin phrase from the Bible that means "from sea to sea."

It appears on federal government buildings and in federal institutions like the Supreme Court of Canada, as well as on government publications, passports and on the rank badges of certain members of the Canadian Armed Forces.

The coat of arms has been redrawn a number of times since its initial design, most recently in 1994 with the addition of the Order of Canada motto: Desiderantes Meliorem Patriam, which means "They desire a better country."

'An extremely important symbol'

"The coat of arms is an extremely important symbol in Canada," said Robert-Falcon Oullette, a senior fellow at the Pearson Centre for Progressive Policy and Cree from Red Pheasant Cree Nation in Saskatchewan.

"This is the symbol that people, new Canadians, will see again and again, and they might not recognize it for what it is, but it does tell a story about who we are."

In 2019, when Oullette was the MP for Winnipeg Centre, he tabled a petition in the House of Commons calling on the government to update the coat of arms to include representation of First Nations, Inuit and Métis.

"When we talk about reconciliation, it's not only the things which impact our daily lives that we need to change, but also those symbols that are perhaps far above what we're thinking about on a daily basis but are still there and when you notice them, you go, 'Oh, there's something wrong with that,' " said Oullette.

He suggested adding a walrus, beaver or medicine wheel to Canada's coat of arms, and adjusting the motto to "from sea to sea to sea" to include the Arctic coast.

Canada's isn't the only coat of arms that could use a makeover, according to Oullette.

He said Newfoundland's coat of arms, which has depictions of two Indigenous people with bows and arrows, could be changed to better reflect "what's important to themselves in that province and in their history."

In his response to the 2019 petition, then-Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Multiculturalism Andy Fillmore said the coat of arms expresses the heritage and identity of Canada "as it was perceived in the early 20th century." He said the maple leaves represent English and French settlers and Indigenous peoples.

Fillmore said revising the coat of Arms would require "meaningful engagement with Indigenous Peoples, through an extensive process overseen by the Canadian Heraldic Authority, with the continued support of the Government."

Governor general to unveil her own coat of arms

Governor General Mary Simon, who is Inuk, born in Kangiqsualujjuaq in the Nunavik region of Quebec, is set to release her own coat of arms in 2022.

This will be "an important moment to showcase Indigeneity in heraldry," the Canadian Heraldic Authority said.

For Idlout, changing Canada's coat of arms isn't a top priority.

She said she's focused on more pressing issues, such as housing, mental health, and holding the government of Canada accountable.

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As Canada's coat of arms turns 100, some say it's time for a redesign that acknowledges Indigenous people | CBC News

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Canada's coat of arms was adopted by royal proclamation 100 years ago. But some say its design, which is based on the four "founding nations" of European setters - England, Scotland, Ireland and France - is overdue for a revamp that would recognize the role of First Nations, Inuit and Métis.

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Un texte de Sophie Hautcoeur

Depuis la création de la Confédération canadienne, chaque gouverneur général a des armoiries personnelles. Depuis les années 1950, elles sont faites au Canada, alors qu'avant elles étaient produites en Angleterre parce que les gouverneurs généraux étaient Anglais.

La tradition se poursuit donc avec la nouvelle gouverneure générale, l'astronaute Julie Payette.

Claire Boudreau, la directrice de l'Autorité héraldique du Canada et héraut d'armes du Canada, a conçu les armoiries après avoir rencontré la principale intéressée, abordé avec elle les thèmes qu'elle voulait mettre en avant et étudié son parcours.

Après plusieurs dessins préliminaires, le résultat a été dévoilé alors que la gouverneure générale était assermentée.

" C'est un emblème familial, c'est personnel. Ce ne sont pas les armoiries de sa fonction, donc je crois qu'elle va les porter et en même temps qu'elle va s'en servir sur des choses à elle ", explique Claire Boudreau.
Exploration et liberté
Les thèmes principaux qui se dégagent des armoiries de Julie Payette sont l'exploration et la liberté, symbolisées par l'aile déployée au centre, sur l'écu, qui est bleu et noir, pour la Terre et l'espace.

" Contrairement au logo, si on n'a pas d'écu, ce ne sont pas des armoiries. Les armoiries dérivent du Moyen Âge, où c'était vraiment des boucliers qui étaient peints ", explique Claire Boudreau.

L'aile déployée symbolise également la protection et la famille.
Des lynx canadiens
De chaque côté, les lynx font référence à un emblème que Julie Payette avait pour sa première mission spatiale et qui comportait un petit chat sur une fusée.

" On s'en est inspiré pour prendre les lynx, qui sont aussi des félins, mais des grands félins canadiens ", confie Claire Boudreau.

Les lynx portent aussi des colliers ornés d'étoiles et de feuilles de laurier, un clin d'oeil au fils de Julie Payette, qui s'appelle Laurier.
Touches de modernité
Les deux lynx ont aussi la particularité de se tenir sur la Terre, ce qui est un choix inhabituel pour ce qu'on appelle une terrasse.

Les armoiries ont une autre originalité avec le casque qui est traditionnellement un casque médiéval. Cette fois, il s'agit d'un casque d'astronaute. " C'est très moderne ", dit Mme Boudreau.

Biographie de Claire Boudreau :
Claire Boudreau, originaire du Québec, est héraut d'armes du Canada et directrice de l'Autorité héraldique du Canada. Elle donne la direction artistique, commente et approuve tous les dessins qui sont produits par l'Autorité et crée elle-même des armoiries.

Elle a étudié à Montréal en histoire médiévale et réalisé sa thèse de doctorat sur un sujet héraldique du Moyen Âge. " Je cherchais un sujet d'étude qui était coloré en même temps et qui avait de belles sources et qui constituait comme une clé pour comprendre la société ", explique-t-elle. Elle a donc étudié cette forme d'expression imagée sur la période du 13e au 16e siècle.

Elle travaille depuis 20 ans à l'Autorité héraldique du Canada et a conçu les armoiries des deux gouverneurs généraux précédents : Michaëlle Jean et David Johnston.

Musique de l'espace
Tout en haut des armoiries, une portée musicale symbolise la créativité et la virtuosité. Il s'agit des premières notes du 2e mouvement du concerto pour hautbois en ré mineur d'Alessandro Marcello.

Claire Boudreau ajoute que c'est un symbole de l'amour de Julie Payette pour la musique baroque.
" Per aspera ad astra "
" À travers l'adversité jusqu'aux étoiles ", la devise en latin qui figure en bas des armoiries est la devise des astronautes.

" Ça veut dire que, quels que soient les difficultés et les écueils, la persévérance, l'effort va toujours finir par porter fruit. Ça dit aussi qu'il y a du positif dans toute chose, il s'agit de le trouver ", indique Claire Boudreau.

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Les armoiries de Julie Payette dévoilées et expliquées

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" Des armoiries traditionnelles avec quelques originalités ", Claire Boudreau, héraut d'armes du Canada, a conçu l'emblème du 29e gouverneur général du Canada (et 4e femme à occuper cette charge), Julie Payette. Elle explique les symboles de cette carte d'identité visuelle.

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Heraldry Symbols and charges are very important elements to create a Family Coat of Arms.

List of heraldic animals, colors, furs, lines and ordinaries can have special meanings

A variety of figures, animals etc. are used for the shield, crest or shield supporters.

There are many imaginative variations and combinations of heraldic symbols in every

coat of arms design that identifies the particular carrier /owner of a family crest.

We have selected some of the most common coat of arms symbols and their meanings.

In addition to the coat of arms symbols, we have added some detailed descriptioms.

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Heraldry Symbols Meanings Coat of Arms Symbols

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Heraldry Symbols and charges are very important elements to create a Family Coat of Arms. List of heraldic animals, colors, furs, lines and ordinaries can have special meanings A variety of figures, animals etc. are used for the shield, crest or shield supporters.

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A spokeswoman for the office of the Queen's new representative in Canada has bad news for amateur code breakers puzzling over David Johnston's coat of arms.

Don't bother trying to find a hidden message in the string of zeros and ones that adorn the Governor-General's heraldic design. There is none.

"It is not as deep as people thought it might be," said Annabelle Cloutier, an official at Rideau Hall, the viceroy's residence and office. "It was really just a symbol."

Apparently, sometimes a row of digits is just a row of digits.

This will surely disappoint would-be cryptographers who have filled pages of Internet websites with speculation and jokes about the ultimate meaning of 33 gold-coloured characters at the bottom of Mr. Johnston's coat of arms.

Ms. Cloutier said Rideau Hall has been following the debate over the string of binary characters and is surprised more people haven't called to verify whether there is a secret embedded in the heraldic imagery.

"Nobody really came to us," she said. "There is no code behind the code. It refers to the digital era in which we live."

The numbers in question are: 110010111001001010100100111010011.

The Governor-General's office was never silent on this question. From the day the coat of arms debuted on Oct. 1, it offered a brief explanation for the digits:. "The wavy band inscribed with zeros and ones represents a flow of information, digital communication and modern media," Rideau Hall said in a release when Mr. Johnston was installed as Canada's 28th Governor-General.

This meaning certainly reflects Mr. Johnston's background as president of the University of Waterloo, located in a technology-sector-heavy part of Ontario. The region is also home to Research in Motion, maker of the BlackBerry smart phone.

But Rideau Hall's original explanation didn't satisfy sleuths, who started running the digits through calculators, trying to convert them into some comprehensible order.

Ms. Cloutier said Canada's Heraldic Authority, which designed Mr. Johnston's coat of arms, is thrilled by all the attention. The low-profile organization, populated by people with degrees in history and medieval studies, is delighted its work is being so widely discussed.

Speculation on Internet sites such as Reddit.com and Slashdot.com veered from the half-serious to the ridiculous.

"Efforts to decode the meaning of the number using ASCII, Morse, grouping by 3/11 and other theories [have]so far come up empty," a user named Lev13than wrote on Slashdot.com.

"Right now it's a toss up between random, the phone number 683-077-0643 and Morse code for "send help - trapped in a coat of arms factory". Is 110010111001001010100100111010011 the combination to his luggage, or just a random stream of digits?"

A CBC reader suggested the design was a nod to Freemasonry. "Is David Johnson a mason? If he is this could mean that he has achieved the rank of a 33 degree mason," Ajax88 wrote on Cbc.ca

Others at CBC suggested the string of digits was a reference to the global population. One, Gotchalookin, said: "It is possible that the number represents an estimate of the number of people on the planet at 6.83 billion-ish - give or take 600 million."

March2010, another Cbc.ca user, opined that this was a dead end. "I looked this up earlier, we hit that number on July 29 2008. Nothing seems significant however for that date."

Some guessed right away that the string of numbers was merely a cosmetic gesture to high tech.

"I think it's safe to assume that it's an aesthetically pleasing bit of random binary to symbolically carry the message that he's in with technology," one user on Slashdot.com named Sockatume wrote of David Johnston. "[It's]much the same way one might tattoo some bitching runes onto one's arm to convey how one is incredibly down with the druids."

Others joked the coat of arms contained a hidden gift from one of Canada's iconic corporations.

"It's for a bar code," Poubelle on Reddit.com said. "If you print it out and take it in to Tim Horton's you get a free medium double-double. (Offer valid for the duration of Johnston's term in office. Offer not valid in Quebec.)"

Rideau Hall's Ms. Cloutier said Canadians may not know the Canadian Heraldic Authority will design coats of arms for anyone.

The authority charges a minimum of about $2,500 to perform the service, a fee level she says is cheaper than purchasing, say, a business logo from a graphics designer.

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Don't bother trying to crack the Governor-General's code

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A spokeswoman for the office of the Queen's new representative in Canada has bad news for amateur code breakers puzzling over David Johnston's coat of arms. Don't bother trying to find a hidden message in the string of zeros and ones that adorn the Governor-General's heraldic design. There is none.

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There have been news stories in recent days about my expenses since leaving Rideau Hall. Given that taxpayers' money is involved, I want to address this matter.

Postgovernor-generalship, I have continued to participate in public life in an active and meaningful way. I believe in public service. I always have. It has been the joy of my life. Playing golf was not an option.

The financial support I've received is in line with what was extended to my predecessors, and has been to my successors, since the program was put in place in 1979. The existence of this program has never been secret. Other democracies similar to ours also provide postmandate support for the equivalent office to the governor-general. In the expenditures that I've incurred, I have always followed the instructions from the Office of the Secretary to the Governor-General.

Last year, I fulfilled 182 commitments, many of them public events. I gave 16 speeches with no honorarium or fees, and 10 pieces of writing for no fee. All of this was related to my life as Canada's 26th governor-general, and all of this came to me at the request of Canadians. These numbers represent about 25 per cent of the total requests and invitations I received in 2017. I try to do as much as I can.

When you accept the invitation to become governor-general, you go through an intense briefing period. One of the things you are told is that this is not a job like any other - you will be engaging in a unique relationship with Canadians. And by its very nature, when you finish your term, that relationship will continue. My predecessors, whom I admired, all emphasized the importance of this to me.

When I became governor-general, I was told that upon leaving office, former governors-general receive support for continued public activity. I was presented with a briefing book which explained that at the end of my formal term, my life would likely remain in the public domain.

Our government created this support program in 1979 to acknowledge and recognize that the life of a former governor-general would continue to be lived in public service. As with my predecessors, it was understood that I would be reimbursed, with proper justification and receipts, for administrative and research salaries, office space and furniture, professional services, travel and accommodation, when appropriate.

Each year, I receive between 500 and 700 requests and invitations, in addition to substantial correspondence from individuals from all walks of life. I consider all invitations individually and I read each and every message because I enjoy hearing from fellow Canadians, and I feel it is my responsibility.

Each week, I receive dozens of invitations to public appearances - from attending local community events to high-level international speaking engagements. Manuscripts arrive asking me to endorse the work, or to provide introductions to books. Even though I may not know the writer, I try to help because I understand how important and precious it is to them.

I am asked for my patronage and support of many arts and culture organizations, and I try to encourage them by supporting their work and becoming involved with them to the extent that I can.

I serve on various juries and advisory boards if they further the causes that I embraced as governor-general. I do not receive compensation for these activities.

Each commitment requires preparation, planning and organization, research and writing. Each invitation that I must decline also calls on my time and energy, but the standard held in my office is that we evaluate each request equally.

Soon after leaving office, I was named the first Canadian Colonel-in-Chief of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, which is a lifetime appointment. While I was governor-general, being the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces was one of my proudest duties. It is a great honour to continue to serve by taking part in the activities of PPCLI - first spending time with them in Kabul and Kandahar in 2007-08 during the Afghan war, and always in Edmonton and Shilo, Man., where their Battalions are based. I am deeply involved with the soldiers and their families. We are currently working very hard on an antisuicide program.

My belief in women's hockey led me to establish the Clarkson Cup, and my belief in public service led me to create, with Massey College, the Clarkson Laureateship at the University of Toronto.

All this has meant that, at nearly 80 years old, I am committed to an active life for five days a week. It is a great privilege to be doing this work. I am alternately humbled and moved, but always inspired by the energy, insights and emotions of Canadians.

The invitations that I receive in the capacity of a former governor-general are diligently kept separate from the work I do with the Institute for Canadian Citizenship, my legacy project that I created upon leaving Rideau Hall. The institute is a stand-alone organization, from which I do not draw a salary. In line with my predecessors Georges Vanier, Jeanne Sauvé and Ray Hnatyshyn - as well as my successor, Michaëlle Jean - I was guided by the Privy Council Office and given a startup grant to found the organization on a matching-grant principle with the federal government.

I had the privilege of being Governor-General for six years. This work confirmed my conviction that I would continue to do as much as I could with Canadians after I left office. I feel that Canadians expect me to remain active. Certainly, it's what I expect of myself. I have always seen myself continuing to do the things which have been appropriate to my former role, and which express my love for our country. I will be forever grateful that I live in a place such as Canada, where anyone, no matter their beginnings, can meaningfully contribute in their own way. As a refugee, I will never lose the feeling that I came to a place which helped me to belong.

From the day I was installed as governor-general, I pledged myself to the Canadian people as long as I lived, not just as long as I held this office. It was an honour to serve throughout my mandate as Canada's 26th governor-general, and it is an honour to continue my promise to Canadians.

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I'm no longer Governor-General, but I still serve Canada

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There have been news stories in recent days about my expenses since leaving Rideau Hall. Given that taxpayers' money is involved, I want to address this matter. Postgovernor-generalship, I have continued to participate in public life in an active and meaningful way. I believe in public service. I always have.

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Heraldry is a huge subject, and some people spend their lives studying it. This guide will help you get to grips with the basics and give you the facts you need to design your very own piece of heraldry or coat of arms.

Why not also make your own cardboard shield to display your design?

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Heraldry is a huge subject, and some people spend their lives studying it. This guide will help you get to grips with the basics and give you the facts you need to design your very own piece of heraldry or coat of arms. Why not also make your own cardboard shield to display your design?

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One of the greatest benefits of becoming the Governor General of Canada (other than being the technical head of state and all) has to be the earning of your very own coat of arms.

The ceremonial insignia for newly installed governor general, Julie Payette, was revealed today, and it is completely delightful.

It also comes with a handy explainer ( in video form too, if that's your preference), which points out the various details that make up its whole. And there's a lot of them.

The two cats, for example, are lynxes, meant to represent the people of Canada, thanks to the animal's natural habitat of the north. It also references the emblem created by artist Gérard Dansereau for Payette's first space mission in 1999, which the Canadian Space Agency said "symbolizes the ground support teams and all friends, colleagues and supporters, without whom space missions would be impossible."

The open wing in the centre, meanwhile, is meant to represent everything from Payette's career as an aviator and astronaut to "our desire to reach higher and expand our horizons," a sentiment echoed in Payette's speech to the Senate.

"Together, the adage says, we can move mountains, can't we? With the brains and our smarts and our altruistic capabilities, we can indeed do a lot of good."

That's right, she basically quoted Céline Dion, and We. Are. Here. For. It.

Julie Payette:"Together-the adage says-we can move mountains...Global issues know no borders, no timeline. They truly do need our attention" pic.twitter.com/C2PC1bB4Pp
- CPAC (@CPAC_TV) October 2, 2017

And speaking of music, that's in the coat of arms too, with the first notes of the second movement of Alessandro Marcello's "Oboe Concerto in D Minor" depicted, thanks to Payette's love of singing and classical music. (She's sung soprano with famous Toronto and Montreal choirs during her career.)

But our favourite part has to be the bottom of the insignia, which symbolizes Earth, albeit without borders - the way Payette has likely viewed it from space.

Coats of arms for governor generals are by no means new. For former governor general David Johnston, the inclusion of a binary code at the bottom of his symbol led to plenty of conspiracy theories, though the government says it was just there to represent the digital age we live in.

The technical placement for this very cool addition to Payette's chest of honours is meant be centred on a shield, but that's not something we really see her carrying anytime soon.

They're also, as the government notes, meant to be valid forever, and if it were us, we'd be plastering this baby on our letterhead until our dying day.

But if you're someone who has an interest in creating your own coat of arms, all you need to do is apply for one with the government, and they'll decide whether you're worthy. Or alternatively, make one on Etsy - it might be a simpler process.

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Julie Payette's Coat Of Arms Makes Us Really Want A Coat Of Arms

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One of the greatest benefits of becoming the Governor General of Canada (other than being the technical head of state and all) has to be the earning of your very own coat of arms. The ceremonial insignia for newly installed governor general, Julie Payette, was revealed today, and it is completely delightful.

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David Johnston says he has ‘cherished’ being Governor General

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau praised David Johnston as a man of "strength, intelligence and compassion," as Parliament bid farewell to the Governor General on Thursday. Former astronaut Julie Payette takes over the role on Monday.

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Julie Payette arrives to be sworn in as governor general

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Former astronaut Julie Payette arrived on Parliament Hill with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday to be officially sworn in as Canada's 29th governor general. (The Canadian Press) For more on this story visit the Toronto Star or read an excerpt of the article below: https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2017/10/02/julie-payette-to-be-installed-as-canadas-29th-governor-general.html As she becomes Canada's 29th Governor-General, Julie Payette's story is told in a newly-unveiled Coat of Arms that portrays ambition, whimsy, and a musical flair.

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‎#GG29: Les coulisses de la création des armoiries de Julie Payette

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Claire Boudreau de l'Autorité héraldique du Canada nous explique le processus créatif et artistique des armoiries de Mme Julie Payette, 29e gouverneure générale du Canada.

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#GG29: Behind the scenes of the creation of Julie Payette's coat of arms

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Claire Boudreau of the Canadian Heraldic Authority explains the creative and artistic process behind the coat of arms of Ms. Julie Payette, Canada's 29th Governor General.

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Un texte de Sophie Hautcoeur

Depuis la création de la Confédération canadienne, chaque gouverneur général a des armoiries personnelles. Depuis les années 1950, elles sont faites au Canada, alors qu'avant elles étaient produites en Angleterre parce que les gouverneurs généraux étaient Anglais.

La tradition se poursuit donc avec la nouvelle gouverneure générale, l'astronaute Julie Payette.

Claire Boudreau, la directrice de l'Autorité héraldique du Canada et héraut d'armes du Canada, a conçu les armoiries après avoir rencontré la principale intéressée, abordé avec elle les thèmes qu'elle voulait mettre en avant et étudié son parcours.

Après plusieurs dessins préliminaires, le résultat a été dévoilé alors que la gouverneure générale était assermentée.

Je pense que c'est un bon départ pour son mandat.

Claire Boudreau, héraut d'armes du Canada

" C'est un emblème familial, c'est personnel. Ce ne sont pas les armoiries de sa fonction, donc je crois qu'elle va les porter et en même temps qu'elle va s'en servir sur des choses à elle ", explique Claire Boudreau.
Exploration et liberté
Les thèmes principaux qui se dégagent des armoiries de Julie Payette sont l'exploration et la liberté, symbolisées par l'aile déployée au centre, sur l'écu, qui est bleu et noir, pour la Terre et l'espace.

" Contrairement au logo, si on n'a pas d'écu, ce ne sont pas des armoiries. Les armoiries dérivent du Moyen Âge, où c'était vraiment des boucliers qui étaient peints ", explique Claire Boudreau.

C'est une aile en plein essor qui incarne notre aspiration à tous à nous élever plus haut et c'est un symbole qui est très fort.

Claire Boudreau, héraut d'armes du Canada

L'aile déployée symbolise également la protection et la famille.
Des lynx canadiens
De chaque côté, les lynx font référence à un emblème que Julie Payette avait pour sa première mission spatiale et qui comportait un petit chat sur une fusée.

" On s'en est inspiré pour prendre les lynx, qui sont aussi des félins, mais des grands félins canadiens ", confie Claire Boudreau.

Ces lynx-là représentent en fait tous les gens du pays.

Claire Boudreau, héraut d'armes du Canada

Les lynx portent aussi des colliers ornés d'étoiles et de feuilles de laurier, un clin d'oeil au fils de Julie Payette, qui s'appelle Laurier.
Touches de modernité
Les deux lynx ont aussi la particularité de se tenir sur la Terre, ce qui est un choix inhabituel pour ce qu'on appelle une terrasse.

C'est un symbole de notre habitat, mais aussi un symbole de la responsabilité qui nous incombe à tous d'en prendre soin.

Claire Boudreau, héraut d'armes du Canada

Les armoiries ont une autre originalité avec le casque qui est traditionnellement un casque médiéval. Cette fois, il s'agit d'un casque d'astronaute. " C'est très moderne ", dit Mme Boudreau.
Biographie de Claire Boudreau :
Claire Boudreau, originaire du Québec, est héraut d'armes du Canada et directrice de l'Autorité héraldique du Canada. Elle donne la direction artistique, commente et approuve tous les dessins qui sont produits par l'Autorité et crée elle-même des armoiries.

Elle a étudié à Montréal en histoire médiévale et réalisé sa thèse de doctorat sur un sujet héraldique du Moyen Âge. " Je cherchais un sujet d'étude qui était coloré en même temps et qui avait de belles sources et qui constituait comme une clé pour comprendre la société ", explique-t-elle. Elle a donc étudié cette forme d'expression imagée sur la période du 13e au 16e siècle.

Elle travaille depuis 20 ans à l'Autorité héraldique du Canada et a conçu les armoiries des deux gouverneurs généraux précédents : Michaëlle Jean et David Johnston.
Musique de l'espace
Tout en haut des armoiries, une portée musicale symbolise la créativité et la virtuosité. Il s'agit des premières notes du 2e mouvement du concerto pour hautbois en ré mineur d'Alessandro Marcello.

Un morceau de musique que Mme Payette a écouté dans l'espace quand elle regardait la Terre, donc c'est un morceau qui lui plaît beaucoup.

Claire Boudreau, héraut d'armes du Canada

Claire Boudreau ajoute que c'est un symbole de l'amour de Julie Payette pour la musique baroque.
" Per aspera ad astra "
" À travers l'adversité jusqu'aux étoiles ", la devise en latin qui figure en bas des armoiries est la devise des astronautes.

" Ça veut dire que, quels que soient les difficultés et les écueils, la persévérance, l'effort va toujours finir par porter fruit. Ça dit aussi qu'il y a du positif dans toute chose, il s'agit de le trouver ", indique Claire Boudreau.

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Les armoiries de Julie Payette dévoilées et expliquées

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" Des armoiries traditionnelles avec quelques originalités ", Claire Boudreau, héraut d'armes du Canada, a conçu l'emblème du 29e gouverneur général du Canada (et 4e femme à occuper cette charge), Julie Payette. Elle explique les symboles de cette carte d'identité visuelle.

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Julie Payette is taking over a new job today as Canada's 29th Governor General, but her past career as an astronaut served as inspiration for her new coat of arms.

Claire Boudreau, the chief herald of Canada, said that as soon as Payette's name was announced she started reading, researching online and watching interviews to learn more about how the governor general-designate saw herself. The Canadian Heraldic Authority safeguards the tradition of coat of arms in Canada.

Here's what the elements of Payette's coat of arms represent, according to Rideau Hall:

The Arms

One of the first things that catches the eye is the white wing in the centre of the coat of arms, beside the royal crown, a nod to Payette's journeys into space and symbolizing exploration, liberty and safety.

"As with birds protecting their young, the wing also conveys the strength and safety of family ties," Rideau Hall explained.

If that wasn't clear enough, the top of the shield is adorned with an astronaut's helmet representing the quest for knowledge beyond the world we know.

The Crest

If you're a classical music lover you might recognize the notes as the opening for Alessandro Marcello's Oboe Concerto in D Minor.

The melody symbolizes Payette's passion and love for music, especially from the Baroque period.

The Motto

Translated from Latin "Per Aspera Ad Astra" means "Through hardship to the stars."

It's a motto used by Payette and her fellow astronauts to symbolize that there is hope in every situation, we just need to look for it.

The Supporters

The pair of Canadian lynx, "an elusive feline," explains Rideau Hall, holding the shield represents the people of Canada.

According to Boudreau, it's also an ode to the emblem created for Payette during her first space mission back in 1999.

They are wearing collars of stars and laurel leaves, or in French laurier, the name of Payette's son.

The Compartment

The coat of arms is supported by the planet Earth, without borders, the way Payette would have seen it from space.

Payette is a Companion of the Order of Canada (of which she is now Chancellor) and a Knight of the National Order of Quebec, and those two honours are depicted over the Earth.

And the sigma, Σ, illustrates the power of facts and science.

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What Gov. Gen. Julie Payette's new coat of arms means

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Julie Payette is taking over a new job today as Canada's 29th Governor General, but her past career as an astronaut is well represented on her new coat of arms. Here's a closer look at what the elements of her shield represent.

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Family crests and coat of arms designs -- historically accurate from official blazons or customized to suit your needs.