Canadian royal symbols

Canadian royal symbolsare the visual and auditory identifiers of theCanadian monarchy,including theviceroys,in the country's federal and provincial jurisdictions. These may specifically distinguish organizations that derive their authority from the Crown (such as parliament or police forces),establishments with royal associations,or merely be ways of expressingloyalorpatrioticsentiment.

Most royal symbols in Canada are based on inherited predecessors fromFrance,England,andScotland,the evidence of which is still visible today, though, over time, adaptations have been made to include uniquely Canadian elements. Some representations were discarded during and after the 1970s, within an evolvingCanadian identity,while others were created over the same time and continue to be up to the present. Today, symbols of the monarchy can be seen in military badges,provincial and national coats of arms,royal prefixes,monuments,andeponymous names of geographical locations and structures.

Purpose

The officialeffigyofElizabeth II,Queen of Canada,used in the 1950s on Canadian stamps and coins to symbolize the monarch's authority under which thepost officeandRoyal Canadian Mintoperate

The use of royal symbols developed from the first royal emblems and images ofFrench,English,Scottish,and, later,British monarchsthat were brought by colonists toNew FranceandBritish North Americato represent the authority of the sovereign back inEurope.The first verifiable use of a royal symbol in Canada was whenJacques Cartierraised the RoyalArms of Franceon theGaspé Peninsulain 1534.Since then, some icons were created for use uniquely in the Canadas—mostly coats of arms. But, only after theFirst World Wardid growing Canadian nationalism lead to changes in the appearance and meaning to Canadians of royal symbols. Since Canada gainedfull legislative independencefrom the United Kingdom in 1931, images of the reigning monarch have been employed to signify either Canada's membership in theCommonwealth of Nations,the Crown's authority, loyalty to Canada,or Canada's full statehood.

Sean Palmer asserted in the 2018 book,The Canadian Kingdom: 150 Years of Constitutional Monarchy,that Canada andNew Zealandare the twoCommonwealth realmsthat have given the greatest attention to "the nationalization" of the visual symbols of their respective monarchies, particularly, in Canada, since the creation of theCanadian Heraldic Authorityin 1988.

Images

The main symbol of the monarchy is the sovereign him or herself, being described as "the personal expression of the Crown in Canada" and thepersonification of the Canadian state.Thus, the image of the sovereign acts as an indication of that individual's authority and therefore appears on objects created by order of theCrown-in-Council,such as coins, postage stamps, and theGreat Seal of Canada.The images of English monarchs were first stuck onto coins 1,000 years ago.Through the 1800s, effigies and pictures of the monarch—Queen Victoria,especially—came to be symbolic of the widerBritish Empire,to which Canada belonged. As with other royal symbols, though, the general domestic meaning of the sovereign's portrait altered through the 20th century. Theroyal cypheris also regarded as a personal logo of the monarch, generally consisting of at least his or her initials. In Canada, the cypher has come to be indicative of the country's full sovereignty.

Many of the depictions of the sovereign and other members of theroyal family,as well as some of their clothing, are part of theCrown Collection,a carried compilation of paintings, prints, sculptures,objets d'art,and furniture.

Coinage, banknotes, and postage

(Top to bottom) an 1858 dime featuringQueen Victoria;a "Victory"nickelfrom 2005, bearing the effigy of Elizabeth II created bySusanna Blunt;a onedollarbanknotefrom 1954, depicting Elizabeth II

Coins were one of the first objects to bear the image of the reigning sovereign in what is today Canada.After 1640, French colonists employed theLouis d'or( "gold Louis", which first bore the effigy ofKing Louis XIIIand then all subsequent French monarchs) until thetransfer of New France to the Britishin 1763. After, British sovereigns and coppers were used, sometimes long after the end of the reign of the monarch appearing on the coin.As a result ofdecimalisation,theProvince of Canadareplaced theCanadian poundwith the dollar in 1858, minting new coins whose obverse side featured an effigy of Queen Victoria; a trend that continued with the first coins issued in Canada afterconfederation.Since its establishment in 1908, coins minted by theRoyal Canadian Mintfeatured an effigy of the reigning monarch.

Canadian coins featured effigies of the monarch that were consistent with the otherCommonwealth realmsuntil 1990. In that year, the Royal Canadian Mint opted to use an effigy of Elizabeth II designed byDora de Pédery-Hunt,making her the first Canadian to sculpt an effigy of the Queen on coinage.Pédery-Hunt's rendition was used until 2003 when a design bySusanna Blunttook its place.After thedeath of Elizabeth II,Blunt's effigy remained in use until 2023, when it was replaced bySteven Rosati's rendition ofCharles III.

Images of the reigning monarch andhis or her familyhave also traditionally been printed on Canadianpostage stampssince 1851, when Queen Victoria and her consort,Prince Albert,were shown on 12- and 6-pence stamps, respectively, for mail in the Province of Canada.Stamps previously issued in other British North American colonies showed images of crowns and, into the late 1800s, bore some variation of the Queen's cypher. Starting in 1939, when she was still Princess Elizabeth of York, Queen Elizabeth II was depicted in 59 successive stamp designs in Canada, continuing on to theQueen Elizabeth II definitive stampsreleased in the 2000s.

Artworks

Further information:Royal monuments in CanadaandMonarchy of Canada § In media and popular culture

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Portraits of KingGeorge VIand his daughter, QueenElizabeth II,in theSenate foyerin theCentre Blockof thefederal Parliament

A copy of theJohn Partridgeportrait ofQueen Victoria,inOsgoode Hall,Toronto

A 1977 portrait of Queen Elizabeth II andPrince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,in a courthouse

The monarchs of Canada have been portrayed by Canadian and European artists in paint, sculpture, and photography. Formal likenesses of the monarch are commissioned by relevant official bodies, such as crowns-in-council or parliaments, and are often found inside or outside government buildings, military installations, many schools, and Canada's high commissions and embassies abroad,as well as in parks and other public places. A full collection of official portraits of sovereigns of Canada and its predecessor territories going back toKing Francis Iwas amassed bySenatorSerge Joyaland are on display in theSenate foyerand Salon de la Francophonie in the parliament buildings'Centre Block.

One of these is the portrait of Queen Victoria painted byJohn Partridge,which was created in the United Kingdom and shipped to Canada in the early 1840s. It was rescued from four fires, including theburning of the parliament of the Province of Canadain 1849 and thegreat firethat destroyed the Centre Block in 1916.During the latter event, parliamentary staff, desperately trying to save as much artwork as they could, found the portrait of Victoria was too large to fit through the door. They, thus, quickly cut it out of its frame and rolled it up. As a consequence, a cut through the crown can be seen today in the painting, which hangs in the Senate foyer.

An official painted portrait of Queen Elizabeth II was created in 1976, and another byScarborough,Ontario, artistPhil Richardswas completed in 2012 markthe monarch's Diamond Jubilee.The latter image depicts Elizabeth wearing her insignia as Sovereign of theOrder of CanadaandOrder of Military Meritand standing inRideau Hallbeside a desk upon which is a copy of theConstitution Act, 1867(grantedroyal assentby Queen Victoria andpatriatedby Queen Elizabeth), and a vase embossed with the Canadian Diamond Jubilee emblem; behind the Queen is theCanadian national flagandGeorge Hayter's 1837 state portrait of Victoria.The creation of this portrait is the subject of aNational Film Board of Canada(NFB) documentary directed byHubert Davis,which was released in fall 2012 as part of the NFB'sQueen's Diamond Jubilee Collector's Edition.The painting was on 25 June installed in the ballroom at Rideau Hall.

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Jean Paul Lemieux's 1979 workaffectionate memory images,in themonarch's and governor general's residenceatla Citadelle,inQuebec City

The statue ofElizabeth IIoutside theSaskatchewan Legislative Building

Elizabeth II was also the subject of Canadian painters, includingJean Paul Lemieux,whose 1979 workaffectionate memory imagescombines "the familiar and the constitutional" by portraying the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in a meadow in front of the Canadian parliament buildings.

More formal and enduring are the sculptures of some of Canada's monarchs, such asLouis-Philippe Hébert's bronze statue of Queen Victoria that was in 1901 unveiled onParliament HillinOttawa.Jack HarmonofBritish Columbiacreated in 1992 theequestrian statueof Queen Elizabeth II that also stands on Parliament Hill, and sculptorSusan Velderfashioned in June 2003 another such statue for the grounds of theSaskatchewan Legislative Building.

Queen Elizabeth II posed for a number of Canada's prominent photographers, the first beingYousuf Karsh,who made a formal portrait of Elizabeth when she was a 17-year-old princess and, later, took a series of official pictures of the princess, in formal and informal poses, just months before she acceded to the throne. Karsh was commissioned on two subsequent occasions to create series of pictures of the Queen andthe Duke of Edinburgh,once prior to Elizabeth's 1967 tour of Canada for thecentenary of Canada's confederation,when he photographed the royal couple atBuckingham Palace,and again in 1984, creating a set of portraits that included a shot of the Queen with hercorgi,Shadow. Prior to her second tour of Canada as queen in 1959, Elizabeth requested that a Canadian photographer take her pre-tour pictures andDonald McKeagueofTorontowas selected. Then, in 1973,Onnig Cavoukian,also from Toronto, made a photographic portrait that was dubbed "The Citizen Queen" because of the informal way in which Elizabeth was depicted. Rideau Hall photographer John Evans captured the sovereign on film in 1977, during herSilver Jubileestay in Ottawa; Evans portrayed the Queen following her return fromopening parliament.More recently, photographic portraits of Queen Elizabeth II were made in 2002, as part ofher Golden Jubileecelebrations, and in 2005, when she marked the centenaries ofAlbertaandSaskatchewan.

The Queen's Beastswere created byJames Woodfordfor thecoronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953and based on theKing's Beasts,originally made forHampton Court Palace,near London, on the order of KingHenry VIII.Though comssioned by the BritishMinistry of Works,the Queen's Beasts are now in the collection of theCanadian Museum of Historyin Ottawa, having been given to the Canadian Crown-in-Council in 1958.

Clothing and jewellery

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Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge,inOttawa,onCanada Day2011, wearing clothing in thenational colours of Canada,including a maple leaffascinator,and the Maple Leaf Brooch given by KingGeorge VItoQueen Elizabeth(later the Queen Mother) in 1939

In the role of the state personified, the monarch has worn clothing symbolic of the country and his or her distinct role in it.For instance, the gown worn by Queen Elizabeth II at both her coronation inLondonand the opening of the Canadian parliament in 1957 was decorated with the floral emblems of her realms, including maple leaves for Canada.During the same 1957 visit to Ottawa, the Queen also wore to a banquet held at Rideau Hall theMaple-Leaf-of-Canadadress; it was a pale greensatingown, edged with a garland consisting of deep greenvelvetmaple leavesappliquédwith crystals and emeralds. Afterwards, the dress was donated to the Crown Collection and is now held at the Canadian Museum of History.Similarly, for a dinner held in July 2010 in Toronto, Elizabeth wore a white gown with silver maple leaves appliquéd on the right sleeve and shoulder.Occasionally, she wore clothing designed withAboriginal motifsor materials made by some of the First Nations peoples. For the opening of parliament in 1977, the Queen wore a gown with gold fringes that was suggestive of an aboriginal princess and,in 2010, wore inNova Scotiaa coat trimmed with beads made by women of theMi'kmaqnation.

The monarch also owns various jewellery pieces that are distinctively Canadian, such as two maple leafbrooches.The diamond Maple Leaf Brooch was originally owned byQueen Elizabeth,given to her by her husband, KingGeorge VI,in advance of theirtour of Canada in 1939.The Queen subsequently lent it to her daughter, Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, for her 1951 tour of Canada.The younger Elizabeth inherited the brooch upon becoming queen in 1952 and continued to wear it while in Canada or, for instance, sitting for an official Canadian portrait.She also lent the jewllery piece to theDuchess of Cornwall(now the Queen) and theDuchess of Cambridge(now the Princess of Wales) for their tours of Canada.

A model of QueenElizabeth IIinher coronation gownandregaliaon display at theCanadian Museum of History,as part of the showA Queen and Her Country,to markthe Queen's Diamond Jubilee

To markQueen Elizabeth II's 65th year as Queen of Canadaand the150th anniversary of Canadian Confederation,Governor GeneralDavid Johnstonpresented the Queen, atCanada House,with the Sapphire Jubilee Snowflake Brooch. Designed as a companion to the diamond Maple Leaf Brooch, the piece was made by Hillberg and Berk of Saskatchewan and consists ofsapphiresfrom a cache found in 2002 onBaffin Islandby brothers Seemeega and Nowdluk Aqpik.

The Saskatchewan Tourmaline Brooch was also made by Hillberg and Berk and gifted to the Queen in 2013 by theLieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan,Vaughn Solomon Schofield.It has an asymmetrical geometric floral design and is made of white gold set with Madagascartourmalines,diamonds, and a single freshwater pearl.

The government of theNorthwest Territorieshad the Polar Bear Brooch made for the then-Duchess of Cambridge and matchingcufflinksforthe then-Duke of Cambridge,in 2011. Created byHarry Winston,the brooch features 4.5 carats (0.90 g) of pavé-set diamonds in platinum; 302 diamonds in total, all mined at the local Diavik Diamond Mine. The cufflinks consist of 390 diamonds, weighing 2.48 carats (0.496 g) total.

Crown

Canada does not have its own physical crown. When KingGeorge VIgave royal assent in parliament, he wore acocked hatand, when QueenElizabeth IIopened parliament,she woreone of her tiaras:the Vladimir Tiara in 1957 and the Queen Mary Fringe Tiara in 1977. Between 2007 and 2011, efforts were made to have a unique Canadian crown created in time forElizabeth II's Diamond Jubileein 2012. This would have been manufactured using Canadian precious metals (platinum, gold, and silver) and encrusted with gems and semi-precious stones sourced from Canada and other Commonwealth countries, all donated and gifted to the monarch. Heraldic renderings were produced by Gordon Macpherson showing three proposed designs and the process reached the stage of rough technical drawings for a jeweller. However, after Canadian officials consulted again with the Queen, she halted the project.

Highway shieldsin Ontario are typically shaped afterSt Edward's Crown

As aheraldicdevice, thecrownis prevalent across Canada, being incorporated into a multitude of other emblems and insignia. On the most basic level, the crown itself is a visual reminder of the monarchy, its central place as the fuse between all branches of government, and its embodiment of the continuity of the state.As Canada is aconstitutional monarchywithresponsible government,the crown can also symbolise "the sovereignty (or authority) of the people."

It can be found on, amongst others, the Royal Cypher; theRoyal Arms of Canada;some of theprovincial and territorial coats of arms;the badges of theRoyal Canadian Mounted Police;and those of theCanadian Forces,theCanadian Coast Guard,and several otherbadges of federal departments.A crown may also be found atop signs inOntariofor theKing's Highwaysand theQueen Elizabeth Way.A crown is also present on variousCanadian decorations and medals,as well as the insignia for all the country's orders, reflecting the monarch's place as thefount of honour.The crown may exist on a medallion as a part of the Royal Cypher and/or on the sovereign's head in effigy, though it can also be placed atop the medal of badge of an order. Use of the royal crowns in any design requires the consent of the monarch; sought through the office of the governor general.

A two-dimensional representation ofSt. Edward's Crownhas been used in a variety of designs since the 1950s; as directed by Queen Elizabeth II when she acceded to the throne.Before the adoption of St. Edward's Crown, a two-dimensional representation of theTudor Crownwas used throughout several designs to represent royal authority. The physical St Edward's Crown remains the property of the King in Right of the United Kingdom; although its two-dimensional representation has been adopted for use to represent royal authority in various Commonwealth realms, including Canada.

Canadian Royal Crown

The Canadian Royal Crown

The Canadian Royal Crown is an emblem devised by theCanadian Heraldic Authorityand approved byKingCharles IIIon the advice of thePrime Minister of Canada,Justin Trudeau,in April 2023 and publicly unveiled to markCharles' coronationon 6 May of the same year. It is a symbol of the Canadian monarchy and the authority of the King and the state acting in his name. Designed byCathy Bursey-Sabourin,Fraser Heraldand Principal Artist of the CHA, it is based on theheraldic depiction of the Tudor crownand incorporates symbols of the Canadian monarchy. It consists of a gold rim and two intersecting arches set with pearls, at the bases of which are maple leaves and within which is a red cap lined withermine fur.At the apex of the arches is a stylized snowflake resembling the insignia of theOrder of Canada,of which the monarch is the Sovereign. On the band is a blue, wavy line symbolizing the country's waterways and ocean borders, emphasizing the importance of the environment to Canadians, as well as Indigenous teachings that water is the lifeblood of the land, and, on the ring's upper edge, are triangular peaks and dips recalling Canada's rugged landscape.

Royal Cypher of King Charles III in Canada

The crown is a "restricted emblem", the use of which requires the permission of the King. It is a "paper crown", meaning it has no physical form and is intended to be used as a symbol only,on the Royal Coat ofArms of Canada,the coats of arms of provinces, the royal cypher, badges and rank insignia of theCanadian Armed Forcesand law enforcement agencies, as well as by private organizations significantly associated with the monarchy and on plaques, stamps, stained glass windows, and other commemorations.

Christopher McCreery, who authored numerous books on Canadian honours, heraldry, and the monarchy, noted that this was the first time in the history of any Commonwealth realm that the head of government had chosen the symbol by which the monarch would represent himself and his authority, as Charles was "forced" to accept the binding advice of his Prime Minister. This, McCreery felt, was an over-step by Trudeau into theroyal prerogative,removing another of the few remaining areas in which a constitutional monarch still has a direct role. The process brought the "symbol of the crown as an object, the institution of constitutional monarchy, and the person of the head of state into the political realm", "[leaving] us with a symbol of authority void of history, authority, or presence; a source of ridicule and derision."

Snowflake Diadem

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A depiction of Elizabeth II wearing the "snowflake diadem", on theCentre Block's Diamond Jubilee Window

In the 21st century, severalCanadian decorations and medalswere introduced that featured the SnowflakeDiademon the head of Queen Elizabeth II's effigy. Designed in 2008 and approved by the Queen the same year,the diadem is made up of alternating snowflakes and maple leaves.However, the diadem does not physically exist; it is considered to be a "heraldic invention" for the purposes of "nationalizing the sovereign,"and to symbolize her status as the Queen of Canada.

Decorations and medals that have used the Snowflake Diadem on effigies include theOperational Service Medal,Polar Medal,Sacrifice Medal,andSovereign's Medal for Volunteers.The diadem is also depicted in the Diamond Jubilee Window in theCanadian Senate foyer.

A variation of the Snowflake Diadem, composed of only snowflakes instead of alternating snowflakes and maple leaves, is also used as aheraldic crownfor the coat of arms of institutions like theTax Court of Canada.As with the original Snowflake Diadem design, the snowflake-only design serves as a reference to Canada being a northern realm.

Coronets

AUnited Empire Loyalist's militarycoronet(left) and civil coronet (right)

Similar to, but older than, the Snowflake Diadem, theUnited Empire Loyalistcoronets are heraldic devices available to Canadian descendants of the Loyalists—refugees to Canada ofEuropean,African,andIndigenousheritage who were loyal tothe Crownand, as such, during and after theAmerican Revolutionary War,forced to leave their homes in what became theUnited States.The Canadian Heraldic Authority can grant thesecoronets—either a military or civil version—in an individual'scoats of arms,according to the regulations of theUnited Empire Loyalists' Association,regardless of race, gender, or religion.These consist of gold maple leaves above a gold band, with either oak leaves (civil) or swords (military) in between each leaf.Individuals of French Canadian ancestry may be granted a coronet consisting of gold fleur-de-lis and maple leaves above a gold band.

Mace

Further information:Parliament of Canada § Monarch

TheMaceof theLegislative Assembly of Nunavut,a symbol of the authority the legislature derives from the monarch

In the federal, provincial, and territorial parliaments,macesrepresent the authority of the monarch in the legislature. At the apex of each mace is a crown, substituting for the deadly bulge of the prehistoric club and the spiked ball of the medieval battle mace. Members of parliament, the legislative assembly, or national assembly cannot pass bills until the relevant mace has been placed before the speaker of the chamber. This acknowledges that parliament's power to legislate stems from the Crown.

Flags

See also:List of Canadian flags

The Sovereign's Flag for Canada flying atGovernment HouseinHalifax, Nova Scotia,followingKing Charles III's coronation.

Similar tocoats of arms,flagsare utilized to represent royal authority and specific royal and viceroyal offices. Thestandards of the kings of Francewere the first royal flags to be used in what is now Canada, a flag bearing the arms ofKing Louis XIVbeing used as the symbol ofNew Franceafter the colony was in 1663 reformed as a royal province ofFrance.The currentsovereign's royal standardis the shield of themonarch's Canadian armsinbannerform undifferentiated. It was created by theCanadian Heraldic Authorityin 2023 for the sovereign's use in Canada or when acting on behalf of the country abroad, the flag being flown from any building or vehicle occupied by the monarch.There are six additionalroyal standards for other members of the royal familydevised by the CHA between 2011 and 2015 and follow in precedence that of the viceroy of the relevant jurisdiction.

Theflag of the governor generaldisplays the crest of the Canadian royal arms—a crowned lion holding a maple leaf—and is used in a fashion akin to the sovereign's flag.Each of the provincial viceroys also hasa representative flag,most being a blue field on which is displayed the shield of the province's arms surmounted by a crown.

TheRoyal Union Flag(left) atStanley ParkinVancouver

TheUnion Flagwas formerly used as a national flag of Canada, prior to the adoption of the NationalFlag of Canada(the "maple leaf flag" ) in 1965.It was thereafter retained as an official flag of Canada and renamed theRoyal Union Flagby parliamentary resolution, intended as a marker of Canada's loyalty to the Crown and membership in theCommonwealth of Nations.This flag continued to be used by the Canadian military as a personal flag of the sovereign until theMinister of National Defencein 1965,Paul Hellyer,ordered that the new National Flag would be the flag of the then-still-to-be-unifiedCanadian Armed Forces,leading to the replacement of theNaval EnsignandRoyal Canadian Air Force Ensign.Both the Royal Union Flag and the standard of royal France have a prominent place in the Royal Arms of Canada. The former sits in thecantonof the flags ofOntarioandManitoba,in the chief of the flag of British Columbia, and, as an abstraction, is the basis of theflag of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Verbal and musical symbols

Music and song are used in various ways as reminders and identifiers of the sovereign or viceroys. By tradition, the tune "God Save the King"(or" God Save the Queen "in the reign of a female monarch) was heard in the Canadian colonies since the late 18th century and continued to be played afterConfederationin 1867. In 1980, "O Canada"was adopted as the national anthem and" God Save the Queen "became, by convention, theRoyal Anthem,for use as a musical salute to the sovereign in person or as a display of loyalty in any circumstance. It was also incorporated into the Canadian Royal Salute, which is used upon the arrival of the governor general or a lieutenant governor and consists of the first six bars of the Royal Anthem followed by the first and last four bars of "O Canada".

At official functions, regardless of whether or not the monarch is personally present, theLoyal Toastmay be recited; it consists of atoastto the health of the sovereign and is generally led by the host of or guest of honour at a ceremony, aside from the monarch him or herself. InEnglish,the toast is: "Ladies and Gentlemen, the King of Canada," and in French: "Mesdames et Messieurs, au Roi du Canada."In themessof regiments in which the monarch holds an honorary appointment, the toast is modified slightly to be read as: "Ladies and Gentlemen, the King of Canada, our Colonel-in-Chief," and in French: "Mesdames et Messieurs, au Roi du Canada, notre colonel en chef."Where a band is present, the Royal Anthem is played following the recital of the Loyal Toast.

Photo portrait of Queen Elizabeth II at the front of a citizenship ceremony

The monarch also acts as the locus of fealty in theOath of Allegiance,which also forms a part of theOath of Citizenship.This giving of allegiance to the sovereign has been described as the expression of "a solemn intention to adhere to the symbolic keystone of the Canadian Constitution as it has been and is, thus pledging an acceptance of the whole of our constitution and national life."

The wordroyalitself isfrequently used as a prefixto the name of anorganization that has gained the monarch's favour or patronage.The granting of this distinction falls within theroyal prerogativeand thus is conferred by the monarch through the office of his or herviceroy,with input from the Ceremonial and Canadian Symbols Promotion Programme within theDepartment of Canadian Heritageon whether or not the institution meets the designated criteria: The organization must have been in existence for at least 25 years,be financially secure, and be non-profit, amongst others.Any organization that has been so honoured may receive appropriate royal insignia when petitioning theCanadian Heraldic Authorityfor a grant of armorial bearings or other emblem.

Similarly,crownis commonly used in language related to governance or law enforcement. Terms includeCrown ward,Crown land,Crown-held property,Crown corporations,Crown copyright,andthe Crowncan refer to the government's lawyers in courts of law.Crownis used as the general term expressing the legal personality of the executive of government.

Calendar dates

AVictoria Dayfireworks display fromOntario Place

Certain dates are of royal significance in Canada.Victoria Dayhas been since 1834 a holiday to mark the birthday of Queen Victoria. After 1957, the same date was designated as the reigning monarch'sofficial birthday.At military sites, on navy vessels, and on government property, flags will also be flown to mark specific royal occasions, includingAccession Day(8 September), the actual birthday of the monarch (14 November), the official birthday of the monarch (Monday before 25 May), and the birthday ofthe royal consort(17 July).

Each year since 1932, the monarch has delivered theRoyal Christmas Messageto the British Commonwealth (later theCommonwealth of Nations); originally broadcast on theBritish Broadcasting CorporationEmpire Service,it is today shown in Canada on theCanadian Broadcasting Corporationtelevision and radio. Except for being read at observances by loyal societies, the monarch's Commonwealth Day (second Monday in March) message is ignored by the media in Canada.

Geographic names

There are hundreds ofplaces named for Canadian monarchsand members of theRoyal Familyall across Canada. No individual has been more honoured than Queen Victoria in the names of Canada's public buildings, streets, populated places, and physical features. The trend for naming places after the sovereign began after the Queen grantedJohn Rosspermission to name a small bay in theNorthwest Passageafter her. Following this, explorers and mapmakers gave the nameVictoriato a multitude of geographical features all over the Canadian map; her name appears more than 300 times. Also, amongst the 280 postal divisions in Canada, more than half have at least one thoroughfare identified by the nameVictoria.

See also

• Canada portal
• National symbols of Canada
• Canadian Red Ensign
• Regional tartans of Canada
• Royal Swans
• The Queen's Beasts

References

Sources

• Jackson, D. Michael (2018).The Canadian Kingdom: 150 Years of Constitutional Monarchy.Dundurn.ISBN978-1-4597-4119-5.

Further information

• Pike, Corinna A.W.; McCreery, Christopher (2011),Canadian Symbols of Authority,Toronto: Dundurn,ISBN978-1-55488-902-0

External links

• Royal Symbols and Titles - Government of Canada