What is the meaning of the national motto?

Canada's national motto is A Mari Usque Ad Mare, Latin for 'From Sea to Sea', and it appears on the lower scroll of the Royal Coat of Arms granted by King George V on November 21, 1921. The motto was proposed by Sir Joseph Pope, the federal Under-Secretary of State, and is drawn from Psalm 72 verse 8: 'He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.'

The motto appears on the Royal Arms of Canada, on the Mace of the House of Commons, on Canadian diplomatic credentials, on the rank insignia of senior judges, on military badges, and on the Centennial Flame at Parliament Hill. It is engraved on the lectern in the House of Commons, on the Senate Speaker's chair, and on the gold seal used to certify federal regulations.

The phrase originally referred to the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, but Canada also fronts the Arctic Ocean, and contemporary references sometimes extend the motto to 'A Mari Ad Mare Ad Mare' or in English to 'From Sea to Sea to Sea' to acknowledge the three coastlines and the Inuit homeland of Inuit Nunangat. The shorter Latin version remains the official heraldic motto.

The Order of Canada, established in 1967, uses a separate Latin motto, 'Desiderantes Meliorem Patriam' ('They desire a better country'), drawn from Hebrews 11:16 and added to the upper scroll of the coat of arms in 1994. Quebec's official motto, 'Je me souviens', meaning 'I remember', is provincial rather than national. Together these mottoes capture the breadth of Canadian heraldic tradition.