Coat of arms of New Brunswick

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The coat of arms of New Brunswick

The Coat of Arms of New Brunswick (formally known as The Arms of Her Majesty in Right of New Brunswick) was begun when the shield and motto in the achievement were granted on May 26, 1868 by Queen Victoria. These arms were based upon the first Great Seal of the province.

The shield features a lion passant or "leopard" in chief, commemorating both England (whose arms feature three such lions) and Brunswick (whose arms have two). The principle charge is an ancient galley, symbolizing the maritime province's links to the sea.

The motto, Spem reduxit (Hope was restored), refers to the province's having acted as a haven for Loyalist refugees who fled there after the American Revolution.

The achievement of arms was augmented with a crest, supporters, and compartment by Queen Elizabeth II, in a public ceremony in Fredericton on September 25, 1984, to mark the province's bicentennial.

The crest, an Atlantic salmon leaping, sits on a golden helmet and a coronet of maple leaves, and is marked with St. Edward's crown, all three symbols of royal authority.

The supporters are white-tailed deer collared with Maliseet friendship wampum, and bear badges of the Union colours and of the fleurs-de-lis of royal France, to commemorate the colonization of the area by those powers.

The compartment is covered by the provincial flower, the purple violet, and the fiddlehead, an edible fern that grows in New Brunswick.

[edit] Blazon

The coat of arms of New Brunswick is blazoned as follow:

Shield: Or, on waves, a lymphad (ancient galley with oars in action) proper, on a chief gules, a lion passant guardant or.

Crest: Upon a helm with wreath or and gule within a

side a white tailed deer, each gorged with a collar of Maliseet wampum, proper and pendant an escutcheon, that to the dexter bearing our union badge and that to the sinister the arms Azure 3 fleurs-de-lis Or, otherwise France modern.

Compartment: Comprising a grassy mount with the floral emblem of the said Province of New Brunswick, the purple violet and young ostrich fern (commonly called fiddlehead) growing all proper.

Motto: Spem reduxit (Hope was restored).