QUESTION PERIOD — Ministry of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs
Canada's Coat of Arms
November 26, 2024
Welcome, minister. Canada’s coat of arms, adopted by a royal proclamation in 1921, is a prominent symbol of our national identity, appearing on passports, government buildings and federal communications. The coat of arms reflects our colonial history, featuring symbols representing England, Scotland, Ireland and France, naturally. Former MPs Pat Martin and Robert-Falcon Ouellette and, more recently, Nunavut MP Lori Idlout have called for the addition of Indigenous symbols to the coat of arms to reflect our diverse identity and serve as a meaningful act of reconciliation, recognizing First Nations, Métis and Inuit as integral to our country’s origins, history, present and future. Such an update would be inclusive and respectful.
Minister, would you commit to bringing up this matter of incorporating Indigenous elements into Canada’s coat of arms with your cabinet colleagues and initiate a process to make that happen?
Thank you, Senator Coyle. I will take this opportunity to thank the students of Thomas L. Wells Public School in my constituency, who brought this to my attention, I would say, five or six years ago. They, in fact, have a variety of models of the coat of arms that they presented to me, which I ended up presenting to Her Excellency the Governor General last year. It really speaks to the need to modernize and to re-evaluate some of the institutions that are not representative, and I think the coat of arms is such.
I will undertake to look at it, senator. I am not sure what kind of process is required. I will certainly undertake to look at it and maybe report back to you.
