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Since
discovery by the Europeans, Canada has always been a monarchy- under the
Kings of France in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, as colonies under
the British Crown in the 18th and 19th centuries and as a kingdom in her
own right since 1867. Canada evolved from absolute monarchy, where the
Sovereign actually ruled, to the modern constitutional monarchy here the
Sovereign reigns but does not rule. Her Majesty «Queen
Elizabeth II of England» is
reigning Queen of Canada. Since the Letters Patent of 1947, the Governor
General has been authorized to exercise all the powers of the Sovereign in
right of Canada, including the granting of armorial bearings. The
Constitution Act of 1982 reaffirmed the monarchy but repatriated our
constitution from Britain.
The first verifiable use of «heraldry» in Canada was in 1534 when «Jacques Cartier» planted the royal arms of France at Gaspe. A number of colonialists became "armigers" (bearers of arms) in New France for their services to the king of France (e.g. Charles le Moyne de Longueuil, 1668). With the fall of New France, the College of Arms in England and the Court of the Lord Lyon in Scotland became the granting authorities for Canada.
On
June 4, 1988, Canada became the first nation of the Commonwealth to
institute its own Heraldic Authority, and thereby withdrew from the
Imperial Jurisdiction of Her Majesty's Officers of Arms of the College of
Arms, London, England as well as the Court of Lord Lyon, Edinburgh,
Scotland. Mr. Robert D. Watt, M.A., F.H.S.C., the President of the
Heraldry Society of Canada was appointed Chief Herald of Canada while M.
Auguste Vachon, M.A., F.H.S.C. and Mr. Charles R. Maier were appointed
Heralds. The Canadian Heraldry Authority now operates Beneath the powers
invested in the Offices of the Governor-General. The Canadian Heraldic
Authority is located at Government House, 1 Sussex Drive, Ottawa. By 1995,
some 500 grants of arms have been issued including innovations that
signaled the evolution of distinctly Canadian heraldry.
All pages © Heritage Resources and
New Brunswick Community College - Saint John.
