While the City of Victoria mostly utilizes a newer design for their official logo, the traditional flag, which depicts the city’s coat of arms, is still in use on a regular basis.
However, not many Victorians know the history behind the City’s official coat of arms, or may not even know they have one.
The current coat of arms which adorns the City’s official flag was created in 1962 by Alan Beddoe, and was based on the design for the official municipal seal.
The year 1962 was chosen because it marked the City’s centennial, or its 100th anniversary.
Beddoe’s design for the coat of arms included a shield with two angels on either side of it, a crown in the centre of the shield and the Latin words “Semper Liber,” which translates to “Always Free.”
The two angels are meant to represent “colonization” and “civilization.”
Meanwhile, the shield’s two white piles that make a letter “V” are meant as a nod to the city’s namesake and the crown is an allusion to Queen Victoria.
Additional imagery includes the wavy blue line at the bottom of the crest, which represents water, and a dove is shown descending from the rays of the eye of providence. These emblems represent peace and bounty.
Beddoe’s coat of arms for Victoria was granted and approved by the College of Arms in London, as Canada had no official sovereign authority on its own matters of heraldry at the time.
Once Canada did form the Canadian Heraldic Authority, the Victoria coat of arms was registered and granted again in 2005.
In addition to designing Victoria’s coat of arms, Beddoe also created official arms for the Township of Esquimalt, the City of Hamilton, Ontario and the Township of Gloucester, Ontario.
Before Victoria had its coat of arms in 1962, the City had a municipal seal of similar design that would be used for official documents.
However, as a Canadian city within the British Empire and later under the Commonwealth, Victoria would have flown the Union Jack, the Red Ensign, or other British symbols before its flag and coat of arms were made official.
Regardless of its history, the City of Victoria rarely uses its official flag, emblazoned with the coat of arms anymore. This is because a new, and more modern design was drawn up and trademarked in more recent years.
The current logo, which adorns most City-owned vehicles, buildings, flags and property, is referred to as the “V banner.
It was created in the year 2000, in an effort to create a more contemporary logo for the incorporated city to use.
Because of the more commonplace use of the new logo, the coat of arms is now strictly for the mayor’s protocol, ceremonial events and legal purposes.
