The Name, Colours and Symbols of Québec
by Kevin Harrington
President, Canadian Flag Association / l'Association canadienne de vexillologie
The 'Belle Province' is the name often used by many Canadians to refer to Quebec; it means simply the 'beautiful province'. This epithet has appeared on automobile license plates issued by Quebec. The word Quebec itself is an Indian word, kebek common to the Algonquin, Micmac, and Cree tongues- meaning the place 'where the river narrows,' referring to the St. Lawrence River. Samuel de Champlain transcribed the name as Quebecq.
I. The Elements of the Flag
The Cross
The cross was used on banners and surcoats in the Crusades. The white cross was found on the regimental flags in use by various army units in New France. A flag with a white cross on a blue field also flew over the habitation established by Champlain and is sometimes attributed to him, but actually corresponds to the flag worn by French merchant vessels during the 17th century.
The colour White
The use of white on banners dates to the times of Joan of Arc and the house of Orleans. A flag composed entirely of a white field was often used in conjunction with blue flags bearing fleurs-de-lis. White had been considered the Bourbon dynastic colour as well and predominated as a French colour until 1794.
The colour Blue
Blue was the colour of the revered cloak of St. Martin. A blue flag strewn with fleurs de lis became the war flag of France. The number of fleurs-de-lis was set as three early in the 12th century. Blue is the colour attributed to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Blue and white-the symbol of purity-are especially her colours.
The Fleur-de-lis
Literally , the 'flower of the lily,' the origin of the fleur-de-lis as a heraldic emblem is lost in legend. The lily, the iris growing along the Lys River, the toad, and the tip of the pike (the weapon), are all possible sources of this device. The use of fleur-de-lis (and heraldry itself) was abolished during the French Revolution and, in fact, the fleur-de-lis has never reappeared as a national emblem of France -not even on a postage stamp! The lily as a symbol of purity is again an emblem associated with Mary.
II. Some Flags that Preceded the 1948 Flag
The Carillon Banner
This flag, 'found' in 1889, was allegedly the one carried by French troops that defended Fort Carillon (Ticonderoga) against British assaults in 1758. On one side of this white or blue cloth are golden fleurs-de-lis and a representation of the Blessed Virgin. This flag was celebrated in Octave Crémazie's poem, but its authenticity as a military flag is open to debate. Most likely, it was a religious processional batmer. Crémazie's espousal of this idea, however, was decisive in winning French-Canadians over to the idea of a blue and white flag (as opposed, say, to the red, white, and green tri-band of the 1837 Patriotes or to the Tricolore of France.)
The Tricolore
The three historic colours of France were united in the form of the Tricolore and national cockade. The French Tricolore was originally ignored in French Canada as an emblem of an anticlerical republican state born in revolution. However, the Anglo-French alliance in the Crimean War and the visit of a French naval vessel in 1855-the first since the Conquest-brought the Tricolore into use among French-Canadians during the later nineteenth century and into the 1920s.
The Carillon-Sacré Coeur Flag
In 1902, Abbé Elphége Filiatrault hoisted over his presbyter in St. Hyacinth a version of a Carillon flag-a flag of blue, with white fleurs-de-lis placed in each comer pointing to the centre- traversed by a white cross. It was enthusiastically received and led to the formation of committees to propose a national flag for French-Canadians. In 1903, the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus above two wreaths of maple leaves in saltire, was placed in the centre of the white cross. The Sacred Heart image derives from the devotions to the heart of Jesus, initiated by the French visionary nun, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. This Catholic practice had increased considerably by the 200th anniversary of her death in 1890. The new flag of the Canadiens came to be called their national flag and was raised in western Canada as well as in Quebec.
III. The 1948 Flag
In 1935, the journal Action Nationale argued
for the suppression of the religious emblem. The desire arose for a simple
fleur-de-lis flag. Efforts by Quebeckers (Québécois) in 1945 and 1946 to
get the Canadian government to adopt a distinctive national flag (un
drapeau véritablement canadien) for Canada were unsuccessful, so they
lobbied their own government to take action. In 1948, an official flag was
proclaimed by Order-in-Council of the Québec government. The flag, generally
called the 'fleurdelisé flag,' bears a white cross on a sky-blue field and with
a white fleur-de-lis in each comer modified so that each fleur-de-lis is placed in a
vertical position. The flag's official proportions are six by four. The arms of
the cross are one unit wide. In 1952, the Qu6bec legislature approved the flag.
The tone of the blue has darkened over the years. Could this be a further
attempt to secularize the flag?
Whereas the older flags mentioned above were flown by French-Canadians throughout Canada, Qu6bec's flag is specific to Quebec. Acadians and other Francophone groups in Canada have developed their own flags.
IV. Other Symbols of Québec
The motto: Je me souviens - I remember. Adopted in 1883 by Eugène Taché, architect of the National Assembly building in Québec City. The motto appears in blue letters on a white scroll edged in blue.
The arms: Authorized on 9 December 1939. They resemble
those granted by Queen Victoria in 1868, except that the chief, or upper
portion, bears three gold fleurs-de-lis on blue (azure) instead of two blue
fleurs-de-lis on a gold (or) field. The blason reads: Tierced in fesse, I.Azure,
three fleurs-de-lis or; 2. Gules (red), a lion passant guardant, or; 3. Or, a
sprig of three leaves of sugar maple, vert (green) veined of the field.
The Banner of Arms: The elements (tinctures, divisions,
and charges) of the shield of arms, described above, are expanded out to fill a
square field. This flag is sometimes seen flying from the Assemblée Nationale
and elsewhere in the capital.
The floral emblem: Adopted in 1963, the provincial flower is the white garden lily or madonna lily (lilum candidum).
The bird.- The snowy owl (harfang des neiges) was
chosen in 1987 by the National Assembly as Québec's aviary emblem.
Patron Saint and Holiday: St. John the Baptist (St.
Jean Baptiste) is Qudbec's patron; his feast day is the day of the Fdte
Nationale, 23 June.
V. The Capital and Site of NAVA's 32nd Convention in October, 1998
Québec City, population 167,000, has been the capital of Québec since Confederation in 1867, and was capital of the French empire in
North America. It was a 'national' capital from the British conquest 1759 of
Canada/New France until the mid- I 800s. The city has been called the 'Gibraltar
of North America,' a strategic location dominated by the promontory of Cap
Diamant. It developed as a port of entry and exit for oceangoing sailing
vessels. The explorer Jacques Cartier wintered near here during the 1530s and
Samuel de Champlain, explorer-administrator, founded a trading post here in
1608. An old seal of Qu6bec City shows the site. A woman, allegorical of Canada,
reclines under a mountain. Near her are a beehive, a beaver, a cornucopia, and
an oval shield showing a lion holding a key in his right paw. A sailing ship
enters the harbour.
In 1673, Count Frontenac proposed a coat of arms for the city -a blue field strewn with yellow fleurs-de-lis, a black beaver on yellow in chief, and two moose as supporters. Another coat of arms showed a crowned lion on a red field , with the lion holding keys. Later arms of the city, perhaps dating from the 1940's, depict a sailing vessel in base and two keys in saltire, surmounted by a maple leaf, in chief
On 20 September 1988 arms were granted to the city by
Canada's Chief Herald Robert Watt. The flag, the first granted by the new
heraldic authority, has a blue field with a crenellated silver border (like the
battlement of a fortress); in the centre is a ship in full sail, in
gold. The arms resembled the assumed arms, but with some heraldic corrections.
The blason reads: "Azure, on a base barry wavy Argent and Azure an ancient
ship under full sail. Or, on a chief Gules fimbriated Or two keys in saltire Or
surmounted by a maple leaf Vert." The new motto reads: "Don de Dieu
feray valoir," meaning, 'I shall put the gift of God to good use.'
Quebec City is a busy tourist town throughout the year. Its winter symbol is Bonhomme Carnaval, a jolly, redtuqued snowman.