The Coat of Arms of Quebec reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Jul-2004
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Coat of Arms of Quebec

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The coat of arms of the Province of Quebec, officially the Arms of Her Majesty in Right of the Province of Quebec, was assigned by royal warrant of Queen Victoria on May 26, 1868, and modified by Order-in-Council of the Quebec government on December 9, 1939.

The shield is divided into three horizontal fields. The first bears three gold fleurs-de-lis on a blue background, a traditional symbol of royal France. The second is a gold lion passant guardant on a red background, a traditional symbol of British royalty. The third is three green maple leaves on a gold background, a traditional symbol of Canada. The shield is surmounted by a royal crown, and accompanied by a silver scroll bearing the provicial motto, Je me souviens ("I remember").

Table of contents
1 Heraldic Blazon
2 Other Canadian coats of arms
3 See also

Heraldic Blazon

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Former Quebec coat of arms
The original arms that were granted by Queen Victoria in 1868 were blazoned as follows:

Or on a Fess Gules between two Fleur de Lis in chief Azure, and a sprig of three Leaves of Maple slipped Vert in base, a Lion passant guardant Or.

This was modified by Order-in-Council of the Quebec government in 1939 as follows:

Use the Royal arms of France Modern ["azure, three fleurs-de-lys Or"] in chief.

It has been argued that since heraldry is a royal prerogative, not provincial, that the Quebec government had no authority to make this change; however, this coat is the one used by the Quebec government since that time, and no serious attempt to change the situation has come to light.

The current 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 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. Ensigned with the royal crown. Under the shield, a scroll argent bordured azure bearing the motto Je me souviens of the same.)

Other Canadian coats of arms

Canada - Alberta - British Columbia - Manitoba - New Brunswick - Newfoundland and Labrador - Northwest Territories - Nova Scotia - Nunavut - Ontario - Prince Edward Island - Saskatchewan - Yukon

See also