Coat of arms of Quebec

Coat of arms of Quebec
Versions
Great Seal of Quebec
Details
Armiger	Elizabeth II in Right of Quebec
Adopted	1939
Crest	Tudor crown
Escutcheon	Tierced in fess, first azure, three fleurs-de-lis Or; second gules, a lion passant guardant of the second, armed and langued of the first; third, of the second, a sprig of three sugar maple leaves vert, nerved of the field.
Motto	Je me souviens French translation: I remember
Earlier versions	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 was adopted by order-in-council of the Quebec government 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 English royalty
• 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 ("I remember").

Blazon

The blazon is:

Tiercé en fasce; d'azur, à deux 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 into three parts) in fess, first azure, two fleurs-de-lis Or; second gules, a lion passant guardant of the second, armed and langued of the first; third, of the second, a sprig of three sugar maple leaves vert, nerved of the field. Ensigned with the royal crown. Under the shield, a scroll argent bordured azure bearing the motto Je me souviens of the same.)

History

First Coat of Arms of Quebec
(1868–1939)

Old coat of arms of Quebec from the Wilfrid Laurier monument

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 Moderne in chief. Quebec is the only Canadian province to have adopted arms by its own authority.^[1]

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 22^e Régiment, it uses the 1868 variant.

Notes

1. Justice Québec. Les armoiries du Québec
2. Royal Heraldry Society of Canada: The Four Founding Provinces

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