What is the meaning of 'Je me souviens'?

'Je me souviens' is the official motto of Quebec, French for 'I remember'. The phrase was inscribed on the Quebec coat of arms in 1939 by Governor General Lord Tweedsmuir and has been on Quebec licence plates since 1978, where it replaced the older 'La Belle Province'. The motto is one of the most widely seen French-language inscriptions in Canada, displayed in front of every Quebec vehicle.

The motto was first used by Quebec architect Eugène-Étienne Taché when he designed the Hôtel du Parlement in Quebec City between 1881 and 1886. Taché carved 'Je me souviens' above the main entrance to the legislature, beneath the original Quebec coat of arms. He left no written explanation of the phrase's meaning, leading to a long debate about whether 'I remember' refers to the French heritage of the province, the British conquest, or Quebec's place within the Canadian federation.

The most widely accepted interpretation, supported by Taché's contemporary letters, is that the motto reflects on Quebec's full history: remembering the founding French heritage, the British conquest of 1759 and the Treaty of Paris of 1763, the Quebec Act of 1774 (which protected French civil law and the Catholic faith), Confederation in 1867, and Quebec's continued place as the only province with French as its official language under Bill 101 (the Charter of the French Language) of 1977.

The Quebec coat of arms granted by King George VI in 1939 includes three fleurs-de-lys (representing royal France), a British lion (representing British heritage), and three maple leaves (representing Canadian heritage), above the motto on a scroll. The motto appears today on Quebec government publications, on the cover of the Quebec passport (the carte d'assurance maladie), and on the masthead of the Journal des débats de l'Assemblée nationale du Québec.