• Capital: St. John's

• Flower: Sarracenia purpurea or Pitcher-plant

• Date of entry into Confederation: March 31, 1949

• Total Area: 404, 517 km²

Pitcher-plant, provincial floral emblem

This coat of arms was assigned by the Garter Principal King of arms on January 1, 1638, following the granting of the whole of Newfoundland to the Marquis of Hamilton, the Earl of Pembroke, the Earl of Holland,and Sir David Kirke.

The crest is an elk, an animal erroneously believed to inhabit Newfoundland.The arms consist of a silver cross set on a red field, the quarters featuring lions and unicorns. The arms are supported on each side by "a savage of the area armed and habited as for war." They show therefore what the designer thought the Beothucks looked like. The motto "Quaerite prime regnum Dei"("Seek ye first the kingdom of God") is in Matthew 7,23.

The existence of this coat of arms was in time forgotten. Uncovered in the 1920s, it was officially adopted by Newfoundland.

Our new flag was adopted in 1980. In this flag, the primary colours of red, gold, and blue are placed against a background of white. The white represents snow and ice, the blue represents the sea; red represents human effort and gold represents our confidence in ourselves. The blue section, most reminiscent of the Union Jack, also represents our common heritage. The red and gold section, larger than the others, represents our future. The triangles outlined in red port ray the mainland and the island parts of our province, reaching forward together. The golden arrow points the way to what we believe will be a bright future. The Christian Cross, the Beothuk and Naskapi ornamentation and the outline of the maple leaf is embodied in the centre, representing our past, present and future.

• Capital: Charlottetown

• Flower: Cypripedium acaule or Lady's Slipper

• Date of entry into Confederation: July 1, 1873

• Total Area: 5, 657 km²

Lady's Slipper, provincial floral emblem

The Coat of Arms includes the following features:

Shield: This is the familiar emblem granted as Armorial Bearings in 1905 by Royal Warrant of His Late Majesty King Edward VII "to be borne for this province on shields, banners, flags or otherwise according to the Laws of Arms." The upper section of the shield features the English heraldic lion which appeared both on the Coat of Arms of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, for whom the province is named, and on that of King Edward VII himself. The lower section shows a large oak tree on the right and three young saplings on the left. The mature tree was originally intended to represent England, while the three saplings stand for the three counties into which the province has been divided since 1767. All rise from the same foundation, as both Britain and the province are islands. Incorporation of the Shield of Arms as the centrepiece of the augmented Armorial Bearings recognizes that period of Prince Edward Island's history as a British colony, while the new elements illustrate significant characteristics of the province, its position in the Canadian federation, its founding peoples and its natural resources.

Helmet: The golden helmet between the shield and the crest is a symbol of sovereignty representing Prince Edward Island's co-sovereign status in Confederation. The helmet has mantling and a wreath in red and white, the national colours of Canada since 1921.

Crest: A Blue Jay, the official avian emblem of Prince Edward Island, stands proudly on a grassy mound holding in its beak a leaf from the province's official silvan emblem, the red oak. The jay wears a replica of the Royal Crown of St. Edward, used since 1661 at the coronations of most British monarchs. The Royal Crown is the symbol of ultimate constitutional authority. Its inclusion in these Armorial Bearings is an honour granted by the Queen.

Supporters: Two silver foxes serve as supporters. In the late 1800s the rare silver fox was native to the region, and its pelt was highly prized in many parts of the world. It was in Prince Edward Island that the art and science of breeding furbearing animals was developed and refined, and the ranched fur industry born. Fur farming made a tremendous contribution to the early 20 th century economy of the province; and the skill and knowledge of the Island pioneers of the industry, as well as the superior quality of their product, was appreciated worldwide. In heraldry, the fox often symbolizes sagacity, wit and wisdom, characteristics that may also be attributed to Islanders. These foxes, being representative of the genesis of an international industry, further symbolize inspiration, ingenuity and perseverance. For centuries the people of Prince Edward Island have prospered through living and working in harmony with the land and the sea. Agriculture and the fishery are represented in the decorations adorning the supporters. One of the foxes wears a garland of potato blossoms around its neck – the other, a length of fishing net.

Compartment: At the centre of the compartment lies an eight-pointed star, a symbol used by the Mi'kmaq people for centuries to represent the sun, which plays a central role in traditional spiritual life of these, the earliest known inhabitants of the region. This star is drawn as if woven of porcupine quill, a popular Mi'kmaq art form. Floral representations of other founding peoples are located around the star. The rose symbolizes the English and the lily is a symbol of the French, while the Irish and Scottish settlers are exemplified by the shamrock and the thistle respectively. Framing the base of the shield are two Lady Slippers, the floral emblem of Prince Edward Island.

Motto: In 1769, what was then known as St. John's Island became a separate colony and received a Great Seal bearing an early representation of today's Shield of Arms. Underneath was the inscription Parva sub Ingenti. This is traditionally translated as "the small under the protection of the great," and when chosen was perhaps intended to define the relationship of a colony to England, the mother country. On July 1, 1873, the colony, by then named Prince Edward Island, became a province in the Canadian Confederation. This event then brought about reinterpretation of the motto on the Great Seal, which had continued in use, to refer to the relationship between the great new country and its geographically smallest political entity. The motto is taken from the work of the Roman poet Vergil. In Book II of Vergil's Georgics, a didactic poem on agriculture, the following lines appear: "...... etiam Parnasia laurus parva sub ingenti matris se subicit umbra." Translated as, "..... so too a small plant, beneath its mother's mighty shade upshoots the bay-tree of Parnassus," in its full context the motto of Prince Edward Island suggests nurtured growth from small beginnings to greatness. Although the motif of the Great Seal had not formally served as arms for the province, it was so widely regarded as such that when Prince Edward Island was granted arms in 1905, the design from the Great Seal, including the motto, was used to form an integral part of the Coat of Arms.

The design of the Prince Edward Island flag is modelled after the coat of arms in rectangular shape and is bordered on the three sides away from the mast by alternative bands of red and white.

• Capital: Halifax

• Flower: Epigaea repens or Mayflower

• Date of entry into Confederation: July 1, 1867 One of the four original provinces with Quebec, New Brunswick and Ontario.

• Total Area: 55, 491 km²

Mayflower, provincial floral emblem

The Nova Scotia Coat of Arms is very old. The shield was approved by King Charles the First in 1625. The Shield of Arms looks like the shield carried by knights in armour. The shield is very old and has a connection with Scotland. It was approved by King Charles the First of Scotland (and England) in 1625. It is white with a blue X on it -- the Cross of Saint Andrew, the patron Saint of Scotland. In the middle of the X is a yellow shield with a red lion -- the Royal Lion, the symbol of royalty in Scotland. The coat of amrs starts with the shield, and then adds these symbols: on top of the shield is a golden royal helmet with blue and silver plumes; on top of the helmet are two joined hands, one wearing armour and the other bare, holding up a piece of laurel (symbol of peace) and a piece of thistle (symbol of Scotland); on the top, a motto (in Latin) which means one defends and the other conquers; on the left, a unicorn (symbol of royalty); on the right, an Aboriginal person (symbol of the first people to live here); and at the bottom, mayflowers (the Nova Scotia flower).

Nova Scotia's official flag is copied directly from the Nova Scotia shield. The flag is white with a large blue X and a yellow shield with the red Royal Lion in the middle. King George the Fifth made this flag the official symbol of Nova Scotia in 1929.

• Capital: Fredericton

• Flower: Viola palmata, var, cucullata or Purple Violet

• Date of entry into Confederation: July 1, 1867 One of the four original provinces with Quebec, Nova Scotia and Ontario

• Total Area: 73, 436 km²

Lady's Slipper, provincial floral emblem

The shield on the coat of arms, linking England, through the lion and celebrating the maritime location and shipbuilding prominence, was assigned by Queen Victoria in 1868. The other features were assigned by Queen Elizabeth II on Sept. 25, 1984, during a visit to Fredericton.

The provincial flag, based on the coat of arms, was adopted by proclamation on Feb. 24, 1965. The symbols depicted on the flag are taken from the Coat of Arms assigned in 1868. They are a gold lion on a red field across the top and an ancient galley with its oars in action across the base. The province takes its name from the Duchy of Brunswick in Germany, which in 1784, the year the province was established, was in the possession of King George III.

The arms of Brunswick consist of two gold lions on a red field, and the arms of the King contained the three gold lions of England. The gold lion in the flag therefore reflects New Brunswick's relationship both to the Duchy of Brunswick and England. The galley is the conventional heraldic representation of a ship and reflects the two principal economic activities, shipping and shipbuilding, carried on in New Brunswick when the coat of arms was assigned.