Symbols of Quebec

The motif most commonly seen in Quebec's various symbols is the fleur de lys, which is associated with the French language and New France.

The cross represents the faith of the province's founders, while the fleur-de-lys and blue colour recall Quebec's French origins.

[1] When Samuel de Champlain founded Québec City in 1608, his ship hoisted the French merchant flag, which consisted of a white cross on a blue background.

This flag inspired the first members of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society to create the Carillon Sacré-Coeur flag, which consisted of a white cross on an azur background with white fleur-de-lis in each corner and a Sacred Heart surrounded by maple leaves in the centre.

The motto, Je me souviens ("I remember"), was devised by the architect of Quebec's Parliament Building, Eugène-Étienne Taché, in 1883.