Coat of arms of Quebec
The Coat of Arms of Quebec (formally known as The Arms of Her Majesty in Right of Quebec) was assigned by royal warrant of Queen Victoria on May 26, 1868 to be the coat of arms of Quebec. The arms were modified by Order-in-Council of the Quebec government on December 9, 1939.
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, traditionally symbolizing British 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 provincial motto, Je me souviens ("I remember").
Blazon
The original arms that were granted by Queen Victoria in 1868 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.
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.
(1868-1939)
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 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.
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.)