The original coat of arms of the Northwest Territories was granted by a Royal Warrant of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

on 24 February 1956. The shield is also featured on the territorial flag. The coat of arms was designed by well known

Canadian heraldry Canadian heraldry is the cultural tradition and style of coats of arms and other heraldic achievements in both modern and historic Canada. It includes national, provincial, and civic arms, noble and personal arms, ecclesiastical heraldry, heraldic ...

expert

Alan Beddoe Lieutenant-Commander Alan Brookman Beddoe, OC, OBE, HFHS, FHSC (June 1, 1893 – December 2, 1975) was a Canadian artist, war artist, consultant in heraldry and founder and first president of the Heraldry Society of Canada in 1965. Born ...

in the early 1950s. The territory's arms is one of three,

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 Ca ...

and

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

are the other two, regions without royal symbols, namely a crown.

Symbolism

The crest consists of two gold

narwhal The narwhal, also known as a narwhale (''Monodon monoceros''), is a medium-sized toothed whale that possesses a large "tusk" from a protruding canine tooth. It lives year-round in the Arctic waters around Greenland, Canada and Russia. It is o ...

s guarding a

compass rose A compass rose, sometimes called a wind rose, rose of the winds or compass star, is a figure on a compass, map, nautical chart, or monument used to display the orientation of the cardinal directions (north, east, south, and west) and their int ...

, symbolic of the

magnetic North Pole The north magnetic pole, also known as the magnetic north pole, is a point on the surface of Earth's Northern Hemisphere at which the planet's magnetic field points vertically downward (in other words, if a magnetic compass needle is allowed t ...

. The white upper third of the shield represents the polar ice pack and is crossed by a wavy blue line symbolizing the

Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the Arct ...

. The diagonal line separating the red and green segments of the lower portion of the shield reflects the

tree line The tree line is the edge of the habitat at which trees are capable of growing. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually cold temperatures, extreme snowp ...

. The green symbolizes the forested areas south of the tree line, while the red represents the

tundra In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless moun ...

to the north. Minerals and

fur Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...

, the important bases of the northern wealth, are represented by gold

billets A billet is a living-quarters to which a soldier is assigned to sleep. Historically, a billet was a private dwelling that was required to accept the soldier. Soldiers are generally billeted in barracks or garrisons when not on combat duty, alth ...

in the green portion and the

mask A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment and often they have been employed for rituals and rights. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practic ...

of the

white fox , is a Japanese animation studio founded in April 2007 by Gaku Iwasa. The studio's most successful productions include adaptations of '' Steins;Gate'', and '' Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World'', and ''Akame ga Kill!''. History The stud ...

in the red.

References

Symbols of the Northwest Territories

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

{{Canada-heraldry-stub

Symbolism

See also

References