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NEW WESTMINSTER

Province : British Columbia

Official blazon

Arms : Argent a cross Azure in the first quarter a sailing ship proper sails unfurled Argent on a barrulet wavy couped Azure, second a plowshare Argent handled Sable, third a Douglas fir tree Vert, fourth two salmon in saltire Gules.
Crest: Issuant from a mural coronet Argent masoned Gules a demi grizzly bear Or.
Supporters: On a compartment of fir trees Vert rising above water barry wavy of four Argent and Azure on either side a lion Gules armed Or the dexter gorged with a collar Or pendant therefrom a bezant bearing the Royal Crown proper that to the sinister gorged with a like collar bearing a blacksmith's anvil Sable.
Motto: IN GOD WE TRUST

Origin/meaning

The arms were officially granted on September 29, 1992.

The shield is based on the emblem drawn by Corporal White of the Royal Engineers and adopted by City Council in 1860, the year of incorporation. It contains symbols evoking the situation and economy of the young settlement in colonial British Columbia; transport by sailing ship, the agriculture of the lower Fraser Valley, the natural heritage and wealth of the great coastal forests, the salmon riches of the Fraser River.

The mural coronet is a traditional heraldic emblem of municipal government. Here it is granted in Canada's national colours of silver and red and provides a base for a gold grizzly bear. The bear, also part of the emblem of 1860, may have been a dramatic symbol of the power and majesty of New Westminster's natural setting for its first generation of citizens.

The compartment is a visual metaphor for the City's beautiful setting, the forests rising sharply from the waters of the Fraser. The two red lions were a natural choice for the Royal Engineers, referring directly to the regal beast in the Royal Arms of Britain, a link between the new city colony in the far west and the homeland. They are made unique to the City through the two medallions, one shows the Royal Crown which appears with the approval of Her Majesty the Queen on the recommendation of His Excellency the Governor General as a permanent mark of honour for "the Royal City" first capital of British Columbia. The anvil in the other medallion honours the City's historic Hyack Anvil Battery, which will soon celebrate its 125th anniversary.

The City's historic motto, "IN GOD WE TRUST" chosen by City Council in 1860 completes the arms.