What is the Canadian heraldic tradition?

The Canadian heraldic tradition is the system of granting and protecting coats of arms, flags, and badges in Canada, governed since June 4, 1988 by the Canadian Heraldic Authority within the Office of the Governor General. Before 1988 Canadians had to apply to one of the British heraldic authorities, the College of Arms in London or the Court of the Lord Lyon in Edinburgh, to receive a personal or corporate coat of arms.

The Authority is led by the Chief Herald of Canada and includes the Saint-Laurent Herald, the Fraser Herald, the Athabaska Herald, the Saguenay Herald, and a team of researchers and graphic artists. Grants are made under the prerogative of the King and signed by the Governor General. Recipients include private citizens, incorporated associations, branches of the federal government, municipalities, and Indigenous nations, the latter often incorporating traditional designs and symbols agreed in consultation with Elders.

Canadian heraldry differs from older European practices by allowing women, non-Christians, and people of any background to receive grants on equal terms, by permitting the use of red and white as standard tinctures alongside the older metals and colours, and by encouraging the use of distinctly Canadian charges such as the maple leaf, the inukshuk, the polar bear, the fleur-de-lys, and the loon. The Authority maintains the Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges of Canada, freely searchable online.

Flags of provinces, territories, and municipalities are also registered through the Authority, as are the badges of military units and the seals of corporations. The system gives Canada its own distinct heraldic vocabulary while respecting the historical British and French traditions on which it draws.