Coat of Arms
The shield on our coat of arms, linking us with England, through the lion and celebrating our maritime location and shipbuilding prominence, was assigned by Royal Warrant of Queen Victoria on May 26, 1868. The crest and motto were assigned by Order of the Lieutenant Governor in Council in 1966. Other features were assigned by Royal Warrant of Queen Elizabeth II on Sept. 24, 1984, during a visit to Fredericton.
Certain government documentation should use the coat of arms rather than official wordmarks. Legislative and judicial documents should carry the coat of arms as an identifying symbol. Some specialized items, such as certificates, can use this symbol. In such cases, contact Design Services, Government Services.
The shield on our coat of arms, linking us with England, through the lion and celebrating our maritime location and shipbuilding prominence, was assigned by Royal Warrant of Queen Victoria on May 26, 1868. The crest and motto were assigned by Order of the Lieutenant Governor in Council in 1966. Other features were assigned by Royal Warrant of Queen Elizabeth II on Sept. 24, 1984, during a visit to Fredericton.
Certain government documentation should use the coat of arms rather than official wordmarks. Legislative and judicial documents should carry the coat of arms as an identifying symbol. Some specialized items, such as certificates, can use this symbol. In such cases, contact Design Services, Government Services.
Lieutenant-Governor Emblem
The Office of the Lieutenant-Governor has its own emblem. This emblem is ornate and should be given special attention. There are two variations of this emblem: one has a series of maple leaves encircling it, one does not.
New Brunswick Provincial Flag
Our provincial flag, based on the coat of arms, was adopted by proclamation on Feb. 24, 1965. The symbols depicted on the flag are taken from the Coat of Arms assigned by Royal Warrant of Queen Victoria on May 26, 1868. They are a gold lion on a red field across the top and an ancient galley with its oars in action across the base.
The province takes its name from the Duchy of Brunswick in Germany, which in 1784, the year the province was established, was in the possession of King George III. The arms of Brunswick consist of two gold lions on a red field, and the arms of the King contained the three gold lions of England. The gold lion in the flag therefore reflects New Brunswick's relationship both to the Duchy of Brunswick and England.
The galley is the conventional heraldic representation of a ship and reflects the two principal economic activities, shipping and shipbuilding, carried on in New Brunswick when the coat of arms was assigned.
New Brunswick Provincial Bird
The black-capped chickadee was proclaimed as the official bird of New Brunswick in August 1983, following a contest conducted by the provincial Federation of Naturalists. A small, tame acrobatic bird, the chickadee is distinctly patterned with a combination of a black cap and bib, white cheeks and buff sides.
Its distinctive "chickadee-dee-dee" is heard throughout the year. Its clear high-whistled "phe-be, phe-be-be" is a signal spring has arrived.
New Brunswick Provincial Flower
The purple violet (Viola palmata, var, cucullata) is a perennial which flowers from May through July. It is stemless, with leaves and flower stocks growing directly from rootstocks.
The flowers of the purple violet have been used in jams and syrups, and are supposed to have properties to soothe the digestive tract and suppress a cough. The flower was adopted as the New Brunswick floral emblem in 1936, at the request of the provincial Women's Institute, the Lieutenant Governor and New Brunswick schoolchildren.
New Brunswick Tartan
The New Brunswick Tartan was designed by the loomcrofters of Gagetown NB, and officially adopted in 1959. It is registered at the Court of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms of Scotland. Represented in the design are the forest green of lumbering, the meadow green of agriculture, the blue of coastal and inland waters, all interwoven with gold a symbol of the province's potential wealth.
The red blocks represent the loyalty and devotion of the early Loyalist settlers and the Royal New Brunswick Regiment.
New Brunswick Tree
The balsam fir (Abies balsamea) was proclaimed to be an official symbol of New Brunswick on May 1, 1987. The balsam fir's narrow, flat needles are shiny dark green above and white below. Important today in the lumbering and pulp and paper industries, the balsam fir is one of the best Christmas trees on the market and adapts easily to a wide range of growing conditions.
It thrives in almost any situation and can grow to a height of 20 metres. Its particularly long fibres produce a better quality paper product. The balsam fir accounts for 97 % of the New Brunswick Christmas tree industry.
New Brunswick Salmon Fly designated “Picture Province”
A salmon fly designated as the "Picture Province" has been designed by Warren Duncan comprising a tag of gold symbolizing the value of Atlantic Salmon to New Brunswick; a butt of green floss honouring the fiddlehead; a tail of red goose fibres to match Canada's flag indicating New Brunswick's ties with the nation; a body of cranberry red being one of New Brunswick's official colours; a rib of medium oval gold tinsel; a hackle of lemon yellow being the background colour of New Brunswick's flag; a wing of hair from the black bear and a head of black.
This fly was proclaimed to be provincial official symbol on July 22, 1993.