The flag of Nova Scotia consists of a blue

saltire A saltire, also called Saint Andrew's Cross or the crux decussata, is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross, like the shape of the letter X in Roman type. The word comes from the Middle French ''sautoir'', Medieval Latin ''saltatori ...

on a white field defaced with the royal arms of Scotland. Adopted in 1929 after a royal warrant was issued, it has been the flag of

the province ''The Province'' is a daily newspaper published in tabloid format in British Columbia by Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, alongside the '' Vancouver Sun'' broadsheet newspaper. Together, they are British Columbia's on ...

since January 19 of that year. It is a

banner of arms A banner of arms is a type of heraldic flag which has the same image as a coat of arms, ''i.e.'' the shield of a full heraldic achievement, rendered in a square or rectangular shape of the flag. The term is derived from the terminology of hera ...

modelled after the province's coat of arms. Utilized as a pennant since 1858, it was officially recognized under primary legislation as Nova Scotia's flag in 2013. When flown with the flags of other Canadian provinces and the national flag, it is fourth in the order of precedence.

History

The British first settled in modern-day

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

after 1621, when (King of Scotland and England) conferred the land to

William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling (c. 1567 in Menstrie, Clackmannanshire12 February 1640) was a Scottish courtier and poet who was involved in the Scottish colonisation of Charles Fort, later Port-Royal, Nova Scotia in 1629 and Long I ...

, via

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but s ...

and gave it the Latin name for "New Scotland". Four years later, the colony was granted its own coat of arms by Charles I of England, with the emblem first recorded at the Court of the Lord Lyon in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

on May 28, 1625. Towards the end of that same decade, the Scots established two short-lived settlements there that were ultimately unsuccessful. Sovereignty over the territory subsequently changed hands between the French and the British throughout the 17th century. This continued until 1713, when the Peace of Utrecht saw

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

permanently relinquish mainland Nova Scotia to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The flag of Nova Scotia was reportedly first flown on its merchant vessels during the Age of Sail in the 19th century, but vexillologist Whitney Smith opines that these ambiguous accounts are doubtful. The first documented usage of the coat of arms of Nova Scotia as a

was in June 1858 during a celebratory tribute at a cricket club, as stated by an article in the '' Acadian Recorder'' at the time and recounted in the ''Provincial Flag Act''. Nova Scotia later acquiesced to a federation with the other colonies of

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

and the United Province of Canada in 1867 under the British North America Act to form the

Dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 192 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. There was vociferous sentiment against Confederation in some parts of Nova Scotia, with a few of its residents flying flags at

half-mast Half-mast or half-staff (American English) refers to a flag flying below the summit of a ship mast, a pole on land, or a pole on a building. In many countries this is seen as a symbol of respect, mourning, distress, or, in some cases, a salut ...

on July 1, 1867. The four provinces comprising the new Dominion were allocated individual coats of arms. However, the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the British Sovere ...

, the heraldic authority in England, was apparently unaware of the earlier

grant of arms A grant of arms or a governmental issuance of arms are actions, by a lawful authority such as an officer of arms or State Herald, conferring on a person and his or her descendants the right to bear a particular coat of arms or armorial bearings. ...

to Nova Scotia in 1625. Consequently,

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

issued a Royal Warrant on May 26 of the following year, conferring a different coat of arms on the new province. This consisted of a

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus ''Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Oncorhy ...

and three

thistle Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the planton the stem and on the flat parts of the leaves ...

s. The new coat of arms, however, did not become popular in Nova Scotia. As a result, an

Order in Council An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council (''Kin ...

was promulgated by the province's Lieutenant Governor on March 7, 1928, asking for the reinstatement of the 1625 arms. A Royal Warrant was subsequently issued by on January 19, 1929, granting the request. It was the first flag in the overseas Commonwealth to be approved by royal charter – thus purportedly making it the oldest flag of a

– and is the oldest provincial flag in Canada. However, it is not the first Canadian provincial flag to be officially adopted, a distinction held by the

flag of Quebec The flag of Quebec, called the (), represents the Canadian province of Quebec. It consists of a white cross on a blue background, with four white fleurs-de-lis. It was the first provincial flag officially adopted in Canada and was originally sh ...

, which was approved by the

National Assembly of Quebec The National Assembly of Quebec (officially in french: link=no, Assemblée nationale du Québec) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; french: link=no, déput ...

on March 7, 1950, two years after the Order in Council was announced. In a 2001 online survey conducted by the

North American Vexillological Association The North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) is a membership organization devoted to vexillology, the scientific and scholarly study of flags. It was founded in 1967 by American vexillologist Whitney Smith (1940–2016), and others. It ...

, Nova Scotia's flag ranked within the top sixth of

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

, provincial and territorial flags from

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, and select current and former

territories of the United States Territories of the United States are sub-national administrative divisions overseen by the federal government of the United States. The various American territories differ from the U.S. states and tribal reservations as they are not sove ...

. It finished in 12th place out of 72, and placed second among Canadian flags after Quebec. Twelve years later, the flag was officially recognized as the flag of the province under an Act of

Legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

. This came about after an eleven-year-old student from Canso uncovered this aberration while conducting research for a school project. Unlike the flags of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, and

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

– which are also provincial flags that are banner of arms – Nova Scotia's was never recognized as such under a provincial statute. The student contacted the

member of the Legislative Assembly A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. ...

representing her electoral district,

Jim Boudreau Jim Boudreau is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in the 2009 provincial election. He represented the electoral district of Guysborough-Sheet Harbour as a member of the New Democratic Party. In June 20 ...

, who consulted with the Legislative Library and other government bodies to ascertain that such a law was not on the books. He consequently introduced the bill that became the ''Provincial Flag Act'' after receiving

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in oth ...

on May 10, 2013. The student and her family were invited to the House of Assembly that same month in acknowledgment of her efforts.

Design

Description

The flag of Nova Scotia has an aspect ratio of 1:2. The

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vi ...

for the banner of arms – as outlined in the letters patent registering it with the

Canadian Heraldic Authority The Canadian Heraldic Authority (CHA; french: Autorité héraldique du Canada) is part of the Canadian honours system under the Canadian monarch, whose authority is exercised by the Governor General of Canada. The authority is responsible for t ...

on July 20, 2007 – reads, "Argent a

Azure, overall on an escutcheon Or a

lion rampant The lion is a common charge in heraldry. It traditionally symbolises courage, nobility, royalty, strength, stateliness and valour, because historically the lion has been regarded as the "king of beasts". The lion also carries Judeo-Chr ...

within a double tressure flory-counter-flory Gules". The official colour scheme, according to the website of the Government of Nova Scotia, follows approximately the Pantone Matching System as indicated below. The colour numbers for the flag's white shade are not specified.

Symbolism

The colours and symbols of the flag carry cultural, political, and regional meanings. According to historians Ian McKay and Robin Bates, the Cross of Saint Andrew alludes to divine providence and its part in enabling Scottish immigrants to be "the first among the Nova Scotians". The royal arms epitomise

feudal times Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...

in Scotland and how this sowed the seeds of the province's constancy as a society. Taken altogether, the saltire and the royal arms signify how Nova Scotia was formerly a colony of the

Kingdom of Scotland The Kingdom of Scotland (; , ) was a sovereign state in northwest Europe traditionally said to have been founded in 843. Its territories expanded and shrank, but it came to occupy the northern third of the island of Great Britain, sharing a l ...

with the backing of its royal family (the

House of Stuart The House of Stuart, originally spelt Stewart, was a royal house of Scotland, England, Ireland and later Great Britain. The family name comes from the office of High Steward of Scotland, which had been held by the family progenitor Walter fi ...

Similarities

The Nova Scotian flag has a conspicuous resemblance to both the national flag and the Royal Banner of Scotland. The shield is also identical to the royal arms of Scotland. This is due to Nova Scotia's aforementioned historical connections to the country. The colours of Saint Andrew's Cross were reversed on the province's flag in order to bring about a more distinct contrast with the royal arms, as stated by Whitney Smith.

Protocol

Advice regarding flag etiquette is the responsibility of the province's Protocol Office. When flown together with the flag of Canada and the other provincial and territorial flags, the flag of Nova Scotia is fourth in the

order of precedence An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance and can be applied to individuals, groups, or organizations. Most often it is used in the context of people by many organizations and governments, for very formal and state o ...

(after the national flag and, in descending order of precedence, the flags of

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

and

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, and ahead of

). Even though Nova Scotia entered into Confederation on the same date as those three provinces (July 1, 1867), it is placed third among the group since its size of population at the time was the third-largest.

References

External links

Arms and flag of Nova Scotia
in the online Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges {{DEFAULTSORT:Nova Scotia, Flag of Flag Flags of Canada Saltire flags 1858 introductions Flags displaying animals