Montreal (Quebec)

Montreal's flag is a banner of the shield ; the lys, the rose, the shamrock (trefoil) and the thistle represent respectively the French, the English, the Irish and the Scots of Montreal. The cross is emblematic of the Christian motives and principles which governed the founders of the city. There is no evidence that it represents St George, see the official site : http://www.ville.montreal.qc.ca/symboles/symboles.htm
(You can click on English if you don't read French, but a few pictures are missing in English).
Luc-Vartan Baronian, 20 June 1997

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Probably the cross does represent St. George, derived from England flag.
Sebastia Herreros, February 1997

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That's what I'm not sure of... You see Montreal's first Arms were White with a red X-cross (St-Patrick style) In each quarter a flower : the red rose for the English, the thistle for the Scots, the shamrock for the Irish. Exception the lowest one with a beaver for the French.

The arms were changed for a "St-George's cross" and the beaver replaced by a fleur-de-lys in the FIRST canton, to give the French their rightful place they said...

The flag is based on the new arms.

It would surprise me that at the same time, one would bring the French element to a dominating place and replace the cross for St-George's... unless St-George is also Montreal's saint...

And also the fact that I've never read that it was St-George's cross in a description reinforces my view.
Luc-Vartan Baronian, February 1997

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In the quarterly "Heraldry in Canada" vol. XV, No.2, June 1981, published by The Heraldry Society of Canada, p.28, in an article about the new logo is this description:

"The arms that the city has used for a century and a half are adoptive, but at least the shield is good heraldry, bearing the Cross of St. George and having the heraldic symbols of the four founding races, the French, English, Scottish and Irish, beautifully and simply displayed."

Sebastian Herreros, 14 February 1997

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First, the description given is confusing because there is at least one mistake :

The first arms were created in 1833 by Montreal's first mayor, Jacques Viger (a century and a half ago...). These arms had the red X on white.

In a newspaper article I have, they describe this as the Cross of St Andrew (not St Patrick).

The (only) modification occurred in 1938 (as I roughly described above).

So if it is in fact the Cross of St George, it hasn't been in use for a century and a half ago, only for 43 years at the time the article was written.

Of course, one mistake doesn't imply that the whole description is incorrect. In fact, the rest is ok and it probably IS the cross of St George, but...
Luc-Vartan Baronian, 14 February 1998

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Here is the official details . . .

The flag of the Town of Montreal was raised for the first time in May 1939. It takes again the principal heraldic symbols of the armorial bearings: the heraldic cross of mouths on white zone and to the districts, four emblematic flowers. The proportions of the flag are two lengths over a width.

These Emblems in the flag:

The flower of lily of the royal house of Bourbon. This emblem represents with the first canton of the French element which was the first to take took possession of Montreal.

The rose of the house of Lancaster. This one is placed with the second canton and it symbolizes the English settlers from England.

The thistle. This emblem represents, with the third canton, the Scottish origin of the population.

The clover of Ireland. To the fourth canton, the clover recalls the presence of the Irish origin of the population.
Robert Alfers, 26 January 1999

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According to Fraser the new Montreal flag was introduced in May 1939 to mark the visit of King George VI. Perhaps this explains the St George's cross.
David Prothero, 4 August 2001

Argent, a cross gules, quartered of the first a fleur de lys azure; of the second a rose gules, stemmed, foliated and pointed vert; of the third a thistle of the same, flory purple; of the fourth, a trefoil of vert. Timbré a beaver couchant on a branch natural. The shield surrounded by a spray of maple leaves vert.

The device on the scroll - The motto "CONCORDIA SALUS", salvation through harmony, is inscribed on the scroll below the crest. This arrangement is also the same as on the Province of Québec arms.

The maple leaves - Montréal's coat of arms, like that of Québec, is surrounded by a wreath of maple leaves. They are the leaves of the sugar maple (Acer saccharum) and they symbolize the amicable relations between the various elements of the city's population.

The beaver - Mounted over the shield is a beaver representing the industriousness of Montrealers who have worked to develop our city.

Source: http://www2.ville.montreal.qc.ca/symboles/engl/symbola.htm
Ivan Sache, 8 November 2002

"The rosette logo and the first visual identity program were officially adopted in 1981 to highlight the city's dynamism and promote communications between Montréal and its citizens as well as enhance its image at home and abroad. The emblem, inspired by the coat of arms, is a minimalist design shaped like a rosette, in which each petal forms the letters V and M, the initials for Ville de Montréal. The intersecting lines at the center of the logo symbolize the city's role as a crossroads of communication and civilization. The four heart-shaped petals signify the deep attachment Montrealers have to their city. An undulating line encircles the whole, representing the island, while the intertwining of plant and aquatic symbolism expresses the wealth of Montréal's natural environment and the care its citizens take to preserve it. The logo was updated in 2003 to reflect the merger of the 28 municipalities on the Island of Montréal (the shade of red is a purer more classical red than the 1981 "warm red" version and the words "Ville de" are suppressed in the signature and only the word Montréal followed by the logo remain, thus harmonizing the signature with those of the governments of Québec and Canada)." Several of these flags were produced though the armorial banner is still the flag known as the city flag. The last time I saw the logo-flag was in 1998, outside a fire station.
Luc Baronian, 9 May 2005

"The basic principle in the creation of the logo was to represent the strong, distinctive and universal character of the airports. It is composed of two main elements: the circle representing the Earth and the influence of Montréal and the paper airplane is a universal symbol representing a plane. The whole represents an airplane, runways, a surface communication network and open spaces. The metallic finish symbolizes high-tech."
Luc Baronian, 9 May 2005

The two golden yellow outer stripes represent the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, which provide Canada, which this port serves, with access to foreign markets. The golden yellow color signifies the commerce of the nation and the influence the Port of Montréal had to the Canadian economy. The ship is another obvious reference to the port and the "M" signifies "Montréal". The Port showed a photo of its newly adopted flag, which I have often seen, in its 1981 bulletin.
Luc Baronian, 9 May 2005

The silhouette of the Old Clock Tower in the Old Port, or Tour de l'Horloge du Vieux-Port, a landmark in this area of the city, is represented on the flag. The wavy blue and white narrow stripes signify water.
Luc Baronian, 9 May 2005

In 2002, the Urban Community's police became the City's police force. I have seen three flags for the former police force. Since the merger, I have only observed the white flag with the badge (flag which came into existence in the late 1990s), though strangely, they haven't yet modified the inscription on the flag's badge. (However, there is a new badge on the police officers' arms). The logo dates from 1973 and represents a stylized man.
Luc Baronian, 9 May 2005