Coat of arms of Quebec
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Through Queen Victoria and Canada
Symbolism
The shield is divided into three horizontal fields:
- Top – three gold fleurs-de-lis on a blue background, symbolizing royal France;
- Middle – a gold lion passant guardant on a red background, symbolizing the Kingdom of England;
- Bottom – three green maple leaves on a gold background, symbolizing Canada.
The shield is surmounted by the Tudor Crown and accompanied by a silver scroll bearing the province's motto, Je me souviens (French for 'I remember').
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Blazon
The blazon is:
- Tiercé en fasce; d'azur, à trois fleurs-de-lis d'or; de gueules, à un léopard d'or, armé et lampassé d'azur; d'or, à une branche d'érable à sucre à triple feuille de sinople, aux nervures du champ. Timbré de la couronne royale. Sous l'écu, un listel d'argent bordé d'azur portant la devise JE ME SOUVIENS du même.
- Tierced (divided in three parts, horizontally) in fess, Azure three fleurs-de-lis Or, Gules a lion passant guardant, and Or a sprig of three maple leaves Vert; Motto: JE ME SOUVIENS.
History
Arms were first granted to the province in 1868 by Queen Victoria. They were blazoned as follows:
- Or on a Fess Gules between two Fleurs de Lis in chief Azure, and a sprig of three Leaves of Maple slipped Vert in base, a Lion passant guardant Or.
However, in 1939, the Quebec government adopted arms by order-in-council, replacing the two blue fleurs-de-lis on the golden field with the royal arms of France Modern in chief. Quebec is the only Canadian province to have adopted arms by its own authority.
The federal government is inconsistent in the use of the two variants: it often uses the 1939 variant, but in some cases, such as on the Centennial Flame on Parliament Hill and the badge of the Royal 22e Régiment, it uses the 1868 variant.