Coat of arms of Quebec
| Arms of His Majesty The King in Right of Quebec | |
|---|---|
| Versions | |
1868–1939 | |
| Armiger | Charles III in Right of Quebec |
| Adopted | 1939 |
| Shield | Tierced 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 (French for 'I remember') |
| Other elements | Tudor Crown |
| Earlier version(s) | 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 |
The coat of arms of Quebec (armoiries du Québec) was adopted by order-in-council of the Government of Quebec on 9 December 1939,[1] replacing the arms assigned by royal warrant of Queen Victoria on 26 May 1868.[2]
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').
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.[3]
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.[1]
The federal government primarily uses the 1939 variant, though the 1868 variant has been retained in some historical references, such as the Centennial Flame on Parliament Hill and the badge of the Royal 22e Régiment.
On January 23, 2026, the Coalition Avenir Québec provincial government announced that they were removing the Tudor Crown from the province's coat of arms (yet leaving other elements intact). Simon Jolin-Barrette, Quebec's Minister of Justice and the French Language, said that the removal was because "The vast majority of Quebecers have no attachment to the British monarchy [sic] and reject it."[4] A de jure change would need the approval of the Canadian Heraldic Authority.
Notes
- ^ a b Justice Québec. Les armoiries du Québec Archived 14 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Royal Heraldry Society of Canada: The Four Founding Provinces". Archived from the original on 5 February 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2008.
- ^ "Province of Quebec". Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges of Canada. Official website of the Governor General. Retrieved 8 November 2021.
- ^ "Quebec announces removal of British crown from provincial coat of arms". CTVNews. 23 January 2026. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
References
- Gouvernement du Québec. "Les armoiries du Québec", in the site Drapeau et symboles nationaux of the Government of Quebec, updated on 14 January 2008
- Luc Bouvier. "Les armoiries du Québec d’hier à aujourd’hui", in L'Action nationale, February 1999.
- Gaston Deschênes (1990). Les symboles d'identité québécoise, Québec: Publications du Québec, 39 pages ISBN 2-551-14189-3
External links
- Media related to Coats of arms of Quebec at Wikimedia Commons
- Ministère de la Justice – Armoiries du Québec (in French)