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Canadian Civic Heraldry

GANANOQUE

Province : Ontario

Origin/meaning :
The arms were officially granted on October 11, 2000.

The colour green indicates the verdant lands around the town. The large horizontal stripe refers to the St. Lawrence River, and the smaller vertical stripe refers to the Gananoque Creek. The gold discs indicate that the Thousand Islands are nearby. The canton of the Royal Union flag of 1707 indicates that the town was settled by the Loyalists, who identified strongly with this flag.

The coronet is a Loyalist civil coronet, granted to person and municipalities with significant Loyalist ties, and, as such, it further commemorates Gananoque as a Loyalist foundation. The two maple leaves above it are green, consistent with the way this Canadian symbol was usually depicted at the time of the Town's incorporation in 1890. The fact that there are two maple leaves on the sprig makes a reference to the close ties of geography and friendship the Town enjoys with neighbouring New York, whose official State tree is also the sugar maple.

The supporters allude to the early history of the area. The First Nations' woman indicates not only the Mohawk Loyalist settlers, but also the Mississauga people who lived in the area for centuries before. The woman on the viewer's right represents the Loyalists of European background who settled in Gananoque following the American Revolution.

The motto PAX VOBISCUM means “Peace be with you.”

Literature : Image and information from here.

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