Flag of Nova Scotia
Officially Province of Nova Scotia
Locally Nouvelle-Écosse
What the flag looks like
A blue saltire on a white field, with a gold shield bearing a red rampant lion at the center.
What it means
The saltire is Scotland's St Andrew's cross with its colors reversed, and the shield bears the royal arms of Scotland, recalling the colony granted by King James VI to Sir William Alexander in 1621.
How to remember it
Nova Scotia
means "New Scotland
", so it flips Scotland's flag: a blue X on white, with Scotland's red lion on a gold shield where the arms cross.
Fun facts
- The coat of arms the flag is based on was granted in 1625, making it the oldest provincial coat of arms in Canada.
- The flag was used from 1858 but was only confirmed in provincial law in 2013.
Nova Scotia at a glance
- Type
- Province
- Joined Confederation
- 1867
- Capital
- Halifax
- Region
- Atlantic Canada
- Population
- 969,383
- Area
- 55,284 km²
- Languages
- English
- Currency
- Canadian dollar ($)
- Flag adopted
- 1929