The Herald Chancellor (''Chancelier d'armes'' in French) is an officer at 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 ...

. The office is always filled by the Secretary to the Governor General. The Herald Chancellor is responsible for the administration of the entire vice-regal office. In some ways, the position is analogous to the

Earl Marshal Earl marshal (alternatively marschal or marischal) is a hereditary royal officeholder and chivalric title under the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign of the United Kingdom used in England (then, following the Act of Union 1800, in the U ...

in England, as it is the Herald Chancellor who issues the warrants permitting the

Chief Herald of Canada Chief Herald of Canada is the title held by the head of the Canadian Heraldic Authority. The Chief Herald of Canada directs the operations of the Canadian Heraldic Authority and makes the grants of arms. There are exceptions to this, such as certa ...

to make grants of arms. The Herald Chancellor also signs each completed grant document, along with the Chief Herald. The position of Deputy Herald Chancellor (''Vice-chancelier d'armes'' in French) is held by the Deputy Secretary to the Governor General, who is also the head of the Chancellery of Honours, responsible for the administration of the Canadian honours system. When the Herald Chancellor is unavailable, the Deputy Herald Chancellor will issue the proper warrants for the Chief Herald of Canada to grant arms.

Coat of arms

Blason CA Asunta di Lorenzo, Herald Chancellor of Canada

The Herald Chancellor has arms of office. The red shield features a gold maple tree with its roots visible. The maple tree represents the predominant species on the grounds of

Rideau Hall Rideau Hall (officially Government House) is the official residence in Ottawa of both the Canadian monarch and their representative, the governor general of Canada. It stands in Canada's capital on a estate at 1 Sussex Drive, with the main b ...

, where the Canadian Heraldic Authority (CHA) is headquartered. The batons of office are red and gold, and they are decorated with shields of the arms of the CHA. The arms are impaled with the personal arms of the Herald Chancellor. The Deputy Herald Chancellor uses similar arms: these are red with a white tree and an added white

bordure In heraldry, a bordure is a band of contrasting tincture forming a border around the edge of a shield, traditionally one-sixth as wide as the shield itself. It is sometimes reckoned as an ordinary and sometimes as a subordinary. A bordure encl ...

. These are, likewise, impaled with the personal arms of the office-holder.

Herald Chancellors

*1988-1990:

Léopold Henri Amyot Léopold Henri Amyot, CVO, FRHSC (''hon'') is a former Canadian diplomat and public servant. During his diplomatic his career, he served as the Canadian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Morocco. He ...

, CVO *1990-2000: Judith A. LaRocque, CVO *2000-2006:

Barbara Uteck Barbara may refer to: People * Barbara (given name) * Barbara (painter) (1915–2002), pseudonym of Olga Biglieri, Italian futurist painter * Barbara (singer) (1930–1997), French singer * Barbara Popović (born 2000), also known mononymously as ...

, CVO *2006-2011:

Sheila-Marie Cook Sheila-Marie Suzanne Cook (5 February 1938 - 10 December 2020) was a senior Canadian civil servant. She served as Secretary to the Governor General of Canada and Herald Chancellor of Canada from September 18, 2006 until January 31, 2011. In Febr ...

, CVO *2011-2018: Stephen Wallace, CVO *2018-2021:

Assunta Di Lorenzo Julie Payette (; born October 20, 1963) is a Canadian engineer, scientist and former astronaut who served from 2017 to 2021 as Governor General of Canada, the 29th since Canadian Confederation. Payette holds engineering degrees from McGill U ...

Deputy Herald Chancellors

*1988-1992: LGen François Richard, CMM *1993-2004: LGen James C. Gervais, CMM *2005-2018: Emmanuelle Sajous, *2018-present: BGen Marc Thériault

External links

Herald Chancellor
Offices of arms Canadian Heraldic Authority {{Canada-heraldry-stub