Canadian symbols are the objects, events, and people that carry special meaning and together express the national identity. These notes cover the Crown, the flag of 1965 and the maple leaf, the fleur-de-lys, the coat of arms and motto, Parliament, official sports and languages, the beaver, the anthems, the honours system, and the calendar of national holidays.
IdentityWhat Canadian symbols are
Objects, events and people that carry special meaning serve as Canada's many important symbols, and together they help explain what being Canadian means. Among the most recognizable are the Mace of the House of Commons, the Canadian flag of 1965, the Royal Arms of Canada, and the Snowbirds (431 Air Demonstration Squadron).
The CrownThe Canadian Crown and monarchy
For 400 years the Crown has symbolized the state in Canada, and since Confederation in 1867, in the reign of Queen Victoria, Canada has been a constitutional monarchy in its own right. The Crown stands for government as a whole — the Canadian Forces and police services, the courts, the legislatures and Parliament.
Queen Elizabeth II has been Queen of Canada since 1952. Her Golden Jubilee came in 2002, and in 2012 her Diamond Jubilee marked 60 years as Sovereign.
Flags & the maple leafThe flag, the maple leaf, and the fleur-de-lys
The first raising of a new Canadian flag came in 1965. Its red-white-red pattern is drawn from the flag of the Royal Military College, Kingston, which was founded in 1876. Since the Middle Ages red and white had been the colours of France and England; they have been Canada's national colours since 1921.
The Union Jack is Canada's official Royal Flag. Before 1965 the Canadian Red Ensign served as the flag for about 100 years, and it has been carried officially by veterans since 2005. The provinces and territories also have their own flags embodying their distinct traditions.
The maple leaf is Canada's best-known symbol. It was adopted by French-Canadians in the 1700s, has appeared on Canadian uniforms and insignia since the 1850s, and is carved into the headstones of fallen soldiers buried overseas and in Canada.
The lily flower, or fleur-de-lys, is said to have been adopted by the French king in the year 496. For more than 1,000 years it stood as the symbol of French royalty, the colony of New France included. Confederation revived it, and it went into the Canadian Red Ensign; Quebec adopted a flag of its own in 1948, bearing the Cross and the fleur-de-lys.
Heraldry & architectureCoat of arms, motto, and Parliament
Canada adopted an official coat of arms and a national motto after the First World War, as an expression of national pride. The motto, A Mari Usque Ad Mare, is Latin for 'from sea to sea.' Symbols of England, France, Scotland and Ireland appear in the arms, along with red maple leaves, and can be seen on dollar bills, government documents and public buildings.
The Parliament Buildings, completed in the 1860s, embody French, English and Aboriginal traditions in the Gothic Revival style popular under Queen Victoria. An accidental fire destroyed the Centre Block in 1916; it was rebuilt by 1922, and only the Library survives from the original. Completed in 1927 in memory of the First World War, the Peace Tower holds a Memorial Chamber with the Books of Remembrance naming those who died serving Canada.
Built in the French Second Empire style, the Quebec National Assembly stands apart from the other provincial legislatures, which are Baroque, Romanesque and neoclassical, reflecting the Greco-Roman heritage of Western civilization in which democracy originated.
SportsPopular sports
Hockey is Canada's most popular spectator sport and its national winter sport; ice hockey was developed here in the 1800s. In the National Hockey League teams play for the Stanley Cup, donated in 1892 by the Governor General, Lord Stanley. Women's hockey has the Clarkson Cup, established in 2005 by Adrienne Clarkson, 26th Governor General and the first of Asian origin.
Canadian football is the second most popular sport, curling an ice game brought by Scottish pioneers, and soccer the game with the most registered players in Canada. The official summer sport is lacrosse, an ancient game first played by Aboriginals.
Remember this
- Lacrosse = official summer sport.
- Hockey = national winter sport.
- Soccer has the most registered players.
- Stanley Cup donated 1892; Clarkson Cup (women's) 2005.
Symbol of industryThe beaver
Centuries ago the beaver was taken up as a symbol of the Hudson's Bay Company; in 1834 the St. Jean Baptiste Society, a patriotic French-Canadian association, adopted it as an emblem, among other groups. It appears on the five-cent coin, on the arms of Alberta and Saskatchewan, and on those of cities such as Toronto and Montreal.
LanguagesCanada's official languages
English and French are Canada's two official languages and important symbols of identity. English speakers are Anglophones, French speakers Francophones, and for more than 300 years the two communities have lived together in partnership and creative tension. Adequate knowledge of English or French is required for citizenship, though adult applicants 55 years of age or over are exempt from the language requirement.
Parliament passed the Official Languages Act in 1969. Its three objectives are to put French and English on an equal footing in Parliament, in the Government of Canada and in institutions the Act covers; to maintain and develop official language minority communities; and to promote the equality of French and English in Canadian society.
AnthemsThe national and royal anthems
O Canada was proclaimed the national anthem in 1980, having first been sung in Quebec City in 1880; French and English Canadians sing different words to it. Canada's Royal Anthem is 'God Save the Queen (or King)', which may be played or sung whenever Canadians wish to honour the Sovereign.
HonoursThe honours system and the Victoria Cross
Official awards go by the name honours — medals, decorations and orders. Canada used British honours for many years before beginning a system of its own with the Order of Canada in 1967, the centennial of Confederation; citizens may nominate fellow citizens worthy of recognition.
The highest honour open to Canadians is the Victoria Cross (V.C.), given for conspicuous bravery of the most striking kind — a daring or pre-eminent act of valour, self-sacrifice, or extreme devotion to duty in the face of the enemy. 96 Canadians have received it since 1854.
Alexander Roberts Dunn, born in present-day Toronto, the first Canadian awarded the V.C., for the Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava in the Crimean War.
William Hall of Horton, Nova Scotia, child of American slaves, the first black man awarded the V.C., for the Siege of Lucknow during the Indian Rebellion.
Filip Konowal, born in Ukraine, honoured for the Battle of Hill 70 — the first man in the Canadian Corps from outside the British Empire to receive the V.C.
Billy Bishop of Owen Sound, Ontario, won the V.C. with the Royal Flying Corps in WWI, later honorary Air Marshal of the RCAF.
Paul Triquet of Cabano, Quebec, earned the V.C. at Casa Berardi in Italy in WWII, later a Brigadier.
Robert Hampton Gray, a navy pilot born in Trail, B.C., killed sinking a Japanese warship in August — the last Canadian to receive the V.C. to date.
CalendarNational holidays and important dates
The year opens with New Year's Day (January 1) and Sir John A. Macdonald Day (January 11), followed by Good Friday (the Friday before Easter Sunday) and Easter Monday (the Monday after). Vimy Day falls on April 9 and Victoria Day on the Monday preceding May 25, marking the Sovereign's birthday.
Summer brings Quebec's Fête nationale (June 24), the Feast of St. John the Baptist, and Canada Day (July 1). The fall holidays are Labour Day, the first Monday of September; Thanksgiving Day, the second Monday of October; and Remembrance Day (November 11), followed by Sir Wilfrid Laurier Day (November 20), with the year closing on Christmas Day (December 25) and Boxing Day (December 26).
Remember this
- Vimy Day — April 9.
- Canada Day — July 1.
- Remembrance Day — November 11.
- Sir John A. Macdonald Day — January 11; Sir Wilfrid Laurier Day — November 20.
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