Whitehorse

WHITEHORSE

Province : Yukon

Official blazon

Arms : Copper on a fess wavy Azure a paddlewheel steamboat Argent, in base a bar wavy per fess wavy Argent and Azure.
Crest: Issuant from an antique crown Vert a steam locomotive wheel Copper.
Supporters: Dexter a horse, sinister a wolf-raven, both Argent embellished Azure and Vert and standing on a compartment set with mountains, conifers, a highway, and railway tracks proper.
Motto: OUR PEOPLE OUR STRENGTH

Origin/meaning

The arms were officially granted on November 15, 2002.

The copper colour on the shield refers to both the historic mining of the mineral of the same name and its importance to the local economy, and to the significance of the metal for the First Nations. The paddlewheel steamboat has long been used as a Whitehorse emblem symbolizing the importance of the vessel in opening up the City and its region.

The colours of the mantling refer to the northern lights, one of the most dramatic features of nature in the north and recalls the City's setting as a northern capital. The sawtooth upper edge of the crown is a symbolic reference to the hills surrounding Whitehorse. The steam locomotive wheel rising out of the crown represents both the important historic role of the railway in developing the City and the concept of Whitehorse as a transportation hub.

The compartment is a stylisation of the City's natural setting, with the rocks and conifers of the surrounding mountains. Set across this are the two most important transportation links, the railway and the Alaska Highway. On the left of the shield, the white horse refers to the City's name. On the right side of the shield, the wolf-raven supporter honours the two clans of the Yukon First Nations, the wolf and the raven. It also celebrates the original inhabitants of the region and their importance in the life of the present day capital.