[2] The motto on the scroll below the shield is Concordia Salus, a Latin phrase translated as "salvation through harmony"[3] or in French as "le salut par la concorde".

[1] The beaver had become a general symbol of Montreal and its industriousness by this time period, and no longer merely represented the original French settlers, thus it was moved to ensign the shield.

In place of the beaver on the shield, a blue fleur de lys was added to symbolize the descendants of the original French settlers.

[4] In 1981, with an attempt to modernize the city's use of such emblems, Montreal introduced a logo for common municipal use, while the coat of arms would be reserved for the most formal of ceremonies and events.

Officially, the type is to be in black and the rosette in red, but a few variations exist for printing purposes when the set colours would not contrast well on documents.

"[6] However, the logo received much negative criticism for its "patchwork of hot pink, tangerine, rhubarb, turquoise and green apple",[6] that was viewed as childish in implement and likened to clown paint, Smarties, jelly beans, garbage and even vomit.