page_title: Arms of Canada
section_title: Use
hierarchical_section_title: Arms of Canada / Use
caption_attribution_description: English: Taken at 1:1 hand held with a Tamron AF 90mm f/2.8 Di SP A/M 1:1 macro on a Canon 5D Mark III body using a MR-14EX ring flash.
context_page_description: The Arms of Canada, also known as the Royal Coat of Arms of Canada or formally as the Arms of Her Majesty The Queen in Right of Canada, is, since 1921, the official coat of arms of the Canadian monarch and thus also of Canada. It is closely modelled after the royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom with French and distinctive Canadian elements replacing or added to those derived from the British version.
  The maple leaves in the shield, blazoned "proper", were originally drawn vert but were redrawn gules in 1957 and a circlet of the Order of Canada was added to the arms for limited use in 1987. The shield design forms the monarch's royal standard and is also found on the Canadian Red Ensign. The Flag of the Governor General of Canada, which formerly used the shield over the Union Flag, now uses the crest of the arms on a blue field.
  The arms are embossed on the covers of Canadian passports, in order to legally signify and symbolize that the bearer is travelling under the aid of the Crown of Canada.
context_section_description: The arms of Canada are the arms of the sovereign and signify national sovereignty and ownership. They are used as a mark of authority by various government agencies and representatives, including the prime minister and Cabinet, and most courts, including the Supreme Court, as well as the Canadian Armed Forces and Royal Canadian Mounted Police. It is also present on all pre-polymer denominations of Canadian banknotes (in fact, the way the arms were printed on each bill is a security feature), as well as the 50¢ coin, and on the cover of Canadian passports. Since 1962, a banner of the arms, defaced with a variant of the Queen's cypher, has formed the sovereign's standard for Canada, for use by the Queen in her capacity as monarch of Canada. Since, six additional standards for use by other members of the Canadian Royal Family have been created.
  In the Canadian Armed Forces and Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the most senior non-commissioned ranks wear the 1957 version of the coat of arms as a badge of rank, representing the fact that they have received the Queen's warrant (as opposed |to the Queen's commission for officers). The revised 1957 and 1994 Arms of Canada are both protected official government symbols used to represent the state under the Federal Identity Program. Permanent resident cards issued from 2015 feature a holographic representation of the 1957 version of the coat of arms.
  The full achievement of the coat of arms has been used by the Canadian government on occasion on a plain red flag, such as in 1967 for the country's centennial celebrations.
  It is also used on a flag in its full achievement in military ceremonies, such as Canadian Armed Forces Tattoo performances.
  The personal flag of the Governor General has, since 1981, featured the crest of the royal arms of Canada on a blue background.
  In response to a new campaign by Bruce Hicks for the Canadian Parliament to have a distinct heraldic symbols along the lines of the portcullis (variations of which are used by the Commons and Lords in the British Parliament), a proposal that was supported by Speakers of the House of Commons John Fraser and Gilbert Parent, a Commons committee was eventually struck following a motion by MP Derek Lee, before which Hicks and Robert Watt, the first Chief Herald of Canada, were called as the only two expert witnesses, though Senator Serge Joyal joined the committee ex-officio on behalf of the Senate.  Commons' Speaker Peter Milliken then asked the Canadian Heraldic Authority to authorize such a symbol and, on 15 February 2008, the Governor General authorized the House of Commons to begin using a badge of the shield of the royal arms superimposed on the ceremonial mace assigned to the House of Commons as a symbol of the royal authority under which it operates. Following the Commons example, the Senate then requested and obtained on 15 April 2008 a similar badge for itself with the shield of the royal arms surmounted on the mace assigned to the Senate.
caption: A 1914 Canadian $5 coin, minted 1912–1914, featuring the 1868 version of the arms
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 5D Mark III", "Image XResolution": "240", "Image YResolution": "240", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CC 2014 Windows", "Image DateTime": "2014-11-06T21:09:19+16:00", "Image Artist": "Ryan Bushby", "Image Copyright": "All rights reserved.", "Image ExifOffset": "276", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/200", "EXIF FNumber": "11", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Manual", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2014:11:05 11:56:57", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2014:11:05 11:56:57", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "477741/62500", "EXIF ApertureValue": "6918863/1000000", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "3", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash fired, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "90", "EXIF SubSecTime": "31", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "31", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "31", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3621", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "3621", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "1600", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "1600", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "3", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Manual Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}