National symbols of Canada

{{Further|Canadian identity|Canadian values|Canadian folklore}}

File:Beaver sculpture, Centre Block.jpg.{{Cite web |last=Monaghan |first=David |year=2013 |title=The mother beaver – Collection Profiles |url=http://www.parl.gc.ca/about/house/collections/collection_profiles/CP_mother_beaver-e.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222075619/http://www.parl.gc.ca/about/house/collections/collection_profiles/CP_mother_beaver-e.htm |archive-date=December 22, 2015 |access-date=December 12, 2015 |publisher=The House of Commons Heritage}} The five flowers on the shield surrounded by maple leafs each represent an ethnicity—Tudor rose: English; Fleur de lis: French; thistle: Scottish; shamrock: Irish; and leek: Welsh.]]

Canada's most well known symbol is the maple leaf, which was first used by French colonists in the 1700s.{{cite web|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/unofficial-symbols-canada.html|title=Unofficial symbols of Canada|publisher=The Department of Canadian Heritage|access-date=2019-01-01}} Since the 1850s, under British rule, the maple leaf has been used on military uniforms and, subsequently, engraved on the headstones of individuals who have served in the Canadian Armed Forces.{{cite book| author1=Michael Dawson| author2=Donald A. Wright| author3=Catherine Anne Gidney| title=Symbols of Canada| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dnoOuAEACAAJ| date=October 15, 2018| publisher=Between the Lines| isbn=978-1-77113-371-5}} The maple leaf is prominently depicted on the country's current and previous flags and on the country's coat of arms. The maple leaf has also been seen on the penny before circulation of that coin was stopped in 2013. Canada's official tartan, known as the "Maple leaf tartan", consists of four colours reflecting those of the maple leaf as it changes through the seasons—green in the spring, gold in the early autumn, red at the first frost, and brown after falling.{{cite news| url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/951077--maple-lead-tartan-becomes-official-symbol| location=Toronto| work=Toronto Star| title=Maple Leaf Tartan becomes official symbol| date=March 9, 2011}}

Other prominent symbols include the national motto, A Mari Usque Ad Mare (From Sea to Sea),{{cite book| author=Reingard M. Nischik| title=History of Literature in Canada: English-Canadian and French-Canadian| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VYgTaGwa4nsC&pg=PA113| year=2008| publisher=Camden House| isbn=978-1-57113-359-5| pages=113–114}} the sports of hockey and lacrosse, the beaver, Canada goose, Canadian horse, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Canadian Rockies, the Canadian parliamentary complex, the Canadarm,{{cite book| author=Canadian Heritage| title=Symbols of Canada| url=http://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.693005/publication.html| year=2002| isbn=978-0-660-18615-3| publisher=Canadian Government Publishing}} and, more recently, the Canadianization of totem poles and Inuksuks,{{cite book| title=Sociology in Action, Canadian Edition, 2nd ed.| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R0hwCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT92| publisher=Nelson Education-McGraw-Hill Education| isbn=978-0-17-672841-0| page=92}} With material items such as Canadian beer, maple syrup, tuques, canoes, nanaimo bars, butter tarts, and the Quebec dish of poutine being defined as uniquely Canadian.{{cite book| last1=Hutchins| first1=Donna| last2=Hutchins| first2=Nigel| title=The Maple Leaf Forever: A Celebration of Canadian Symbols| publisher=The Boston Mills Press| year=2006| location=Erin| isbn=978-1-55046-474-0|page=iix intro}} A six-pointed, hexagonal snowflake used as the insignia for the Order of Canada has come to symbolize Canada's northern heritage and diversity.{{cite web| url=https://www.gg.ca/en/honours/canadian-honours/order-canada/levels-and-insignia#:~:text=The%20insignia%20of%20the%20Order,surmounted%20by%20the%20Royal%20Crown.| title=Canadian Honours > Order of Canada > Levels and Insignia| publisher=The Governor General of Canada| year=2002}} The country's institutions of healthcare, military peacekeeping, the national park system, and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms are seen as uniquely Canadian by its citizens.{{cite web| url=http://www.queensu.ca/cora/_files/fc2010report.pdf| title=Focus Canada (Final Report)| publisher=Queen's University| date=2010| author=The Environics Institute| page=4 (PDF page 8)| accessdate=December 12, 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160204231952/http://www.queensu.ca/cora/_files/fc2010report.pdf| archive-date=February 4, 2016| url-status=dead}}{{cite web| url=http://www.nanosresearch.com/sites/default/files/POLNAT-S15-T705.pdf| title=Exploring Canadian values| date=October 2016| author=Nanos Research| accessdate=February 1, 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170405113447/http://nanosresearch.com/sites/default/files/POLNAT-S15-T705.pdf| archive-date=April 5, 2017| url-status=dead}}

The Crown, displaying traditional cross pattées and fleurs-de-lis, symbolizes the Canadian monarchy and appears on the coat of arms, the governor general's flag, the coats of arms of many provinces and territories; the badges of several federal departments, the Canadian Armed Forces and Royal Military College of Canada, many regiments, police forces, on buildings, as well as some highway signs and licence plates. Also, the image of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is on Canadian stamps, $20 bank notes, and all coins, soon to be replaced by His Majesty King Charles III, King of Canada.{{Cite web| url= https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadian-coronation-ceremoney-charles-iii-1.6834785| title=King Charles will replace his mother on Canadian $20 bill and coins | accessdate=5 December 2023}} A poll taken in 2022 determined that 55 per cent of respondents agreed the country's monarchy helps define Canadian identity and six in 10 felt it helps to differentiate Canada from the United States.{{Cite web| url=https://www.ipsos.com/en-ca/news-polls/canadians-conflicted-on-future-role-of-monarchy| title=Canadians Conflicted on Future Role of Monarchy as Half (54%) Say Canada Should End Ties to Monarchy| accessdate=September 21, 2022| archive-date=September 21, 2022| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220921012408/https://www.ipsos.com/en-ca/news-polls/canadians-conflicted-on-future-role-of-monarchy| url-status=dead}}

{{further|Canadian royal symbols}}

{{Further|List of Canadian provincial and territorial symbols}}

The following is a list of official and de facto symbols, as recognized by the government of Canada. They are not shown in any order of precedence.

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{{Canada provinces map|border=none|align=right|prefix = Symbols of|the=the|width = 240px|caption = Symbols by provinces and territories }}

• Canadian patriotic music
• Canadian values
• Events of National Historic Significance
• Great Canadian flag debate
• List of Canadian awards
• List of Canadian flags
• National Historic Sites of Canada
• Orders, decorations, and medals of Canada
• Orders, decorations, and medals of the Canadian provinces
• Persons of National Historic Significance
• Regional tartans of Canada{{Clear}}

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• {{cite book | author = Daniel Francis | date = 1997 | title = National Dreams: Myth, Memory, and Canadian History | publisher = arsenal pulp press | pages = | isbn = 978-1-55152-043-8 | oclc = 1023918608 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ijwUkaeNPmwC&pg=PP1}}
• {{cite book | author1 = Corinna Pike | author2 = Christopher McCreery | date = 14 June 2011 | title = Canadian Symbols of Authority: Maces, Chains, and Rods of Office | publisher = Dundurn | pages = | isbn = 978-1-4597-0016-1 | oclc = 1091195772 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=8x_k6AR1_IUC&pg=PP1}}

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• [http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2011/pc-ch/CH4-130-2010-eng.pdf Canadian Heritage: Symbols of Canada] (PDF)

{{List of official Canadian national symbols}}

{{Canada topic|Symbols of}}

{{Canada topics}}

{{North America topic|National symbols of|countries_only=yes}}