Article

Motto

Published Online February 8, 2010

Last Edited June 12, 2015

The heraldic practice of affixing an inscription, expressive of an appropriate sentiment, to a coat of arms or a crest has been honoured by the Dominion of Canada and 8 of the 10 provinces. None of the territories has a motto, but many municipalities have mottoes of their own.

Motto

The heraldic practice of affixing an inscription, expressive of an appropriate sentiment, to a coat of arms or a crest has been honoured by the Dominion of Canada and 8 of the 10 provinces. None of the territories has a motto, but many municipalities have mottoes of their own. The motto of the Dominion of Canada is a Mari usque ad Mare which is officially translated "From Sea to Sea" and "D'un océan à l'autre." A listing of the provinces and their official mottoes and translations is as follows. Alberta: Freedom to Create, Spirit to Achieve; British Columbia: Splendor Sine Occasu ("Splendour without diminishment"); Manitoba: no official motto; New Brunswick: Spem Reduxit ("Hope was restored"); Newfoundland: Quaerite Prime Regnum Dei ("Seek ye first the Kingdom of God"); Nova Scotia: Munit Haec et Altera Vincit ("One defends and the other conquers"); Ontario: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet ("Loyal it began, loyal it remains"); Prince Edward Island: Parva Sub Ingenti ("The small under the protection of the great"); Québec: Je me souviens ("I remember"); Saskatchewan: no official motto. The motto of the city of Ottawa is "Advance - Ottawa - En Avant."