Flag of Nova Scotia

The Scottish first settled in modern-day Nova Scotia after 1621,{{cite web |title=The Scottish Colonisation of Nova Scotia |url=https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/The-Colonisation-of-Nova-Scotia/ |publisher=Historic UK |access-date=9 December 2023}} when {{nowrap|James VI and I}} (King of Scotland and England) conferred the land to William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling, via royal charter and gave it the Latin name for "New Scotland".{{cite encyclopedia|first1=Brendan Anthony|last1=O'Grady|first2=Barry|last2=Moody|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|title=Nova Scotia – History|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Nova-Scotia/History|date=April 6, 2021|access-date=May 26, 2021|publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.}}{{cite encyclopedia|last=Beck|first=J. Murray|editor-last=|editor-first=|encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia|title=Nova Scotia|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/nova-scotia|date=April 7, 2009|access-date=May 26, 2021|volume=|publisher=Historica Canada|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516222557/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/nova-scotia|archive-date=May 16, 2021|url-status=live}} Four years later, the colony was granted its own coat of arms by Charles I,{{cite web|title=Nova Scotia's provincial symbols|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/provincial-territorial-symbols-canada/nova-scotia.html#a5|date=August 15, 2017|access-date=May 13, 2021|work=Department of Canadian Heritage|publisher=Government of Canada|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513141520/https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/provincial-territorial-symbols-canada/nova-scotia.html|archive-date=May 13, 2021}} with the emblem first recorded at the Court of the Lord Lyon in Edinburgh on May 28, 1625.{{cite encyclopedia|first=Whitney|last=Smith|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|title=Flag of Nova Scotia|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-Nova-Scotia|date=January 21, 2019|access-date=May 15, 2021|publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.}}{{cite web|title=Province of Nova Scotia [Civil Institution]|url=https://reg.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/project.asp?lang=e&ProjectID=1176&ShowAll=1|date=July 20, 2007|access-date=May 13, 2021|work=Canadian Heraldic Authority|publisher=The Governor General of Canada|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513140630/https://reg.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/project.asp?lang=e&ProjectID=1176&ShowAll=1|archive-date=May 13, 2021}} Towards the end of that same decade, the Scots established two short-lived settlements there that were ultimately unsuccessful. Sovereignty over the territory subsequently changed hands between the French and the British throughout the 17th century. This continued until 1713, when the Peace of Utrecht saw France permanently relinquish mainland Nova Scotia to the United Kingdom.

The flag of Nova Scotia was reportedly first flown on its merchant vessels during the Age of Sail in the 19th century,{{cite web|title=Symbols – The Flag of Nova Scotia|url=https://nslegislature.ca/about/photo-galleries/symbols/flag-nova-scotia|access-date=May 28, 2021|publisher=Nova Scotia House of Assembly|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414102732/https://nslegislature.ca/about/photo-galleries/symbols/flag-nova-scotia|archive-date=April 14, 2021}} but vexillologist Whitney Smith opines that these ambiguous accounts are doubtful. The first documented usage of the coat of arms of Nova Scotia as a banner of arms was in June 1858 during a celebratory tribute at a cricket club, as stated by an article in the Acadian Recorder at the time and recounted in the Provincial Flag Act.{{cite act|type=|index=9|date=2013|legislature=Nova Scotia House of Assembly|title=The Provincial Flag Act|page=|url=https://nslegislature.ca/legc/bills/61st_5th/3rd_read/b082.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516093724/https://nslegislature.ca/legc/bills/61st_5th/3rd_read/b082.htm|archive-date=May 16, 2021}} Nova Scotia later acquiesced to a federation with the other colonies of New Brunswick and the United Province of Canada in 1867 under the British North America Act to form the Dominion of Canada. There was vociferous sentiment against Confederation in some parts of Nova Scotia, with a few of its residents flying flags at half-mast on July 1, 1867. The four provinces comprising the new Dominion were allocated individual coats of arms.{{cite encyclopedia|first=Whitney|last=Smith|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|title=Flag of New Brunswick|url=https://global.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-New-Brunswick|date=January 26, 2001|access-date=May 28, 2021|publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.}} However, the College of Arms, the heraldic authority in England, was apparently unaware of the earlier grant of arms to Nova Scotia in 1625. Consequently, Queen Victoria issued a Royal Warrant on May 26 of the following year, conferring a different coat of arms on the new province. This consisted of a salmon and three thistles.

The new coat of arms, however, did not become popular in Nova Scotia. As a result, an Order in Council was promulgated by the province's Lieutenant Governor on March 7, 1928, asking for the reinstatement of the 1625 arms. A Royal Warrant was subsequently issued by {{nowrap|George V}} on January 19, 1929, granting the request.{{cite web|title=Nova Scotia (NS) – Facts, Flags and Symbols|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadians/celebrate-being-canadian/teachers-corner/pin-symbol-province-territory/fact-sheet-nova-scotia.html|date=November 12, 2010|access-date=May 28, 2021|work=Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada|publisher=Government of Canada|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210528105421/https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadians/celebrate-being-canadian/teachers-corner/pin-symbol-province-territory/fact-sheet-nova-scotia.html|archive-date=May 28, 2021|url-status=dead}} It was the first flag in the overseas Commonwealth to be approved by royal charter – thus purportedly making it the oldest flag of a Dominion{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y8gcL2PBOVIC&pg=PA9|title=Complete Flags of the World|publisher=Penguin|date=6 January 2009|last=Kindersley Ltd.|first=Dorling|page=9|isbn=9780756654863}} – and is the oldest provincial flag in Canada.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KuikAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA28|title=Our Flag: The Story of Canada's Maple Leaf|publisher=Kids Can Press|year=2014|last1=Owens|first1=Ann-Maureen|last2=Yealland|first2=Jane|page=28|isbn=9781771381116}} However, it is not the first Canadian provincial flag to be officially adopted, a distinction held by the flag of Quebec,{{cite encyclopedia|last=|first=|editor-last=|editor-first=|encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia|title=Politics and Government|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/timeline/politics-and-government|access-date=May 26, 2021|volume=|publisher=Historica Canada|quote="Québec’s flag, the Fleurdelisé … was the first provincial flag officially adopted in Canada."|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419183817/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/timeline/politics-and-government|archive-date=April 19, 2021|url-status=live}} which was approved by the Parliament of Quebec on March 7, 1950, two years after the order in council was announced.{{cite encyclopedia|first=Whitney|last=Smith|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|title=Flag of Quebec|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-of-Quebec|date=February 28, 2018|access-date=May 28, 2021|publisher=Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.}}

In a 2001 online survey conducted by the North American Vexillological Association, Nova Scotia's flag ranked within the top sixth of state, provincial and territorial flags from Canada, the United States, and select current and former territories of the United States. It finished in 12th place out of 72, and placed second among Canadian flags after Quebec.{{cite web|url=http://www.nava.org/Flag%20Design/State&Provincial%20Survey%202001/surveyresults.htm|title=New Mexico tops state/provincial flags survey, Georgia loses by wide margin|first=Ted|last=Kaye|date=June 10, 2001|access-date=June 6, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606033347/http://www.nava.org/Flag%20Design/State%26Provincial%20Survey%202001/surveyresults.htm|archive-date=June 6, 2011}}{{cite news|title=Flag-lovers flower Quebec's fleur-de-lis with a rosy ranking|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:AWNB:OKRB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=10B7A9CD729A9ED0&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=105B9A93AF33E3E3|date=June 2001|access-date=April 12, 2017|publisher=NewsBank|url-access=subscription}} Twelve years later, the flag was officially recognized as the flag of the province under an Act of Legislature. This came about after an eleven-year-old student from Canso uncovered this aberration while conducting research for a school project.{{cite news|title=Nova Scotia's provincial flag confirmed 155 years later|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/nova-scotia-s-provincial-flag-confirmed-155-years-later-1.1335703|date=May 8, 2013|access-date=May 16, 2021|work=CBC News|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation}}{{cite magazine|last=Taube|first=Michael|date=July–August 2013|title=A Neglected Royal|url=https://reviewcanada.ca/magazine/2013/07/a-neglected-royal/|magazine=Literary Review of Canada|location=Toronto|access-date=May 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210118231005/https://reviewcanada.ca/magazine/2013/07/a-neglected-royal/|archive-date=January 18, 2021}} Unlike the flags of British Columbia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island – which are also provincial flags that are banner of arms – Nova Scotia's was never recognized as such under a provincial statute.{{cite web|title=Hansard Transcript – Assembly 61, Session 5|url=https://nslegislature.ca/legislative-business/hansard-debates/assembly-61-session-5/house_13may07|date=May 7, 2013|access-date=May 16, 2021|publisher=Nova Scotia House of Assembly|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516091926/https://nslegislature.ca/legislative-business/hansard-debates/assembly-61-session-5/house_13may07|archive-date=May 16, 2021}} The student contacted the member of the Legislative Assembly representing her electoral district, Jim Boudreau, who consulted with the Legislative Library and other government bodies to ascertain that such a law was not on the books. He consequently introduced the bill that became the Provincial Flag Act after receiving royal assent on May 10, 2013. The student and her family were invited to the House of Assembly that same month in acknowledgment of her efforts.

The flag of Nova Scotia has an aspect ratio of 1:2. The blazon for the banner of arms – as outlined in the letters patent registering it with the Canadian Heraldic Authority on July 20, 2007 – reads, "Argent a saltire Azure, overall on an escutcheon Or a lion rampant within a double tressure flory-counter-flory Gules". The official colour scheme, according to the website of the Government of Nova Scotia, follows approximately the Pantone Matching System as indicated below. The colour numbers for the flag's white shade are not specified.{{cite web|url=http://www.gov.ns.ca/cmns/flagspublic.asp|title=Public Flag, Tartan Images|access-date=December 9, 2009|date=May 29, 2007|work=Communications Nova Scotia|publisher=Government of Nova Scotia|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091202225111/http://www.gov.ns.ca/cmns/flagspublic.asp|archive-date=December 2, 2009}}

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The colours and symbols of the flag carry cultural, political, and regional meanings. According to historians Ian McKay and Robin Bates, the Cross of Saint Andrew alludes to divine providence and its part in enabling Scottish immigrants to be "the first among the Nova Scotians".{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eYyWkA3izIAC&pg=PA312|title=In the Province of History: The Making of the Public Past in Twentieth-Century Nova Scotia|publisher=McGill–Queen's University Press|year=2010|last1=McKay|first1=Ian|last2=Bates|first2=Robin|page=312|isbn=9781877460463}} The royal arms epitomize feudal times in Scotland and how this sowed the seeds of the province's constancy as a society. Taken altogether, the saltire and the royal arms signify how Nova Scotia was formerly a colony of the Kingdom of Scotland with the backing of its royal family (the House of Stuart).

The Nova Scotian flag has a conspicuous resemblance to both the national flag and the Royal Banner of Scotland.{{cite encyclopedia|last=Vachon|first=Auguste|encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia|title=Provincial and Territorial Emblems|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/provincial-and-territorial-emblems#NovaScotia|date=March 4, 2015|access-date=May 15, 2021|publisher=Historica Canada|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200504142603/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/provincial-and-territorial-emblems|archive-date=May 4, 2020}} The shield is also identical to the royal arms of Scotland. This is due to Nova Scotia's aforementioned historical connections to the country. The colours of Saint Andrew's Cross were reversed on the province's flag in order to bring about a more distinct contrast with the royal arms, as stated by Whitney Smith.

File:Flag-of-Nova-Scotia.jpg.]]

Advice regarding flag etiquette is the responsibility of the province's Protocol Office.{{cite web|title=Protocol Office|url=https://novascotia.ca/iga/protmission.asp|access-date=May 10, 2021|publisher=Government of Nova Scotia|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510085306/https://novascotia.ca/iga/protmission.asp|archive-date=May 10, 2021}} When flown together with the flag of Canada and the other provincial and territorial flags, the flag of Nova Scotia is fourth in the order of precedence (after the national flag and, in descending order of precedence, the flags of Ontario and Quebec, and ahead of New Brunswick).{{cite web|title=Position of honour of the National Flag of Canada – With flags of the Canadian provinces and territories|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/flag-canada-etiquette/position-honour.html#a4|date=January 9, 2018|access-date=May 10, 2021|work=Department of Canadian Heritage|publisher=Government of Canada|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510085410/https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/flag-canada-etiquette/position-honour.html|archive-date=May 10, 2021}} Even though Nova Scotia entered into Confederation on the same date as those three provinces (July 1, 1867), it is placed third among the group since its size of population at the time was the third-largest.{{cite web|title=Did you know…?|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/national-flag-canada-day/about/did-you-know.html|date=December 17, 2019|access-date=May 10, 2021|work=Department of Canadian Heritage|publisher=Government of Canada|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510085558/https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/national-flag-canada-day/about/did-you-know.html|archive-date=May 10, 2021}}

• Symbols of Nova Scotia
• Coat of arms of Nova Scotia

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• [http://reg.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/project.asp?lang=e&ProjectID=1176 Arms and flag of Nova Scotia] in the online Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges

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Nova Scotia