Northwest Territories

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NORTHWEST TERRITORIES

Official blazon

Arms : Per bend wavy Gules and Vert billety Or in sinister chief the mask of an Arctic fox Argent, on a chief indented Argent a barrulet wavy Azure.
Crest: A compass rose proper between two narwhals hauriant and addorsed Or.

Origin/meaning

The arms were officially granted on February 17, 1956 (London) and again on April 20, 2006 (Canada)

The chief of the shield is white with a wavy line, representing the long-sought northwest passage through the polar ice. The fox's mask and the gold billets represent the furs and minerals which are the wealth of the territories. The star in the crest represents the magnetic north pole. The narwhal is a common type of whale in the region.