Upon a helm with wreath or and gules within a coronet comprising 4 maple leaves (3 manifest) set upon a rim of water barry wavy azure and argent leaping an atlantic salmon, upholding on its back our Royal Crown, both proper mantled gules doubled Or.
On either side a white tailed deer, each gorged with a collar of Maliseet wampum, proper and pendant an escutcheon, that to the dexter bearing our union badge and that to the sinister the arms Azure 3 fleurs-de-lis Or, otherwise France modern.
Comprising a grassy mount with the floral emblem of the said Province of New Brunswick, the purple violet and young ostrich fern (commonly called fiddlehead) growing all proper.
The original coat of arms, consisting solely of the shield, was based on the design of the
Great Seal of New Brunswick, which featured a sailing ship.[2]
The achievement of arms was augmented with crest and motto by an
Order in Council of then-
Lieutenant GovernorJohn Babbitt McNair in 1966.[1] The supporters and compartment were added by Royal Warrant of Queen
Elizabeth II on 24 September 1984,[1] and presented to the province in a public ceremony in
Fredericton the following day to mark the province's bicentennial.[2][3]
The crest, an
Atlantic salmon that is leaping, sits on a golden helmet and a coronet of maple leaves, and is marked with St. Edward's crown, all three symbols of royal authority.
The shield features a lion passant in chief, commemorating both England (whose arms feature three such lions) and
Brunswick (whose arms have two). The principal charge is an ancient galley, symbolizing the maritime province's links to the sea.
The motto, Spem reduxit means "Hope Restored", refers to the province's having acted as a haven for
Loyalist refugees who fled there after the
American Revolution.[2][3]