New Brunswick

Flag of New Brunswick
Adopted	February 24, 1965
Designed by	(unknown)
Proportions	5:8

The flag of New Brunswick is a golden lion passant on a red field in the upper third and a gold field defaced with a lymphad on top of blue and white wavy lines in the bottom two-thirds.

Symbolism

The colours and symbols of the flag carry cultural, political, and regional meanings. According to Whitney Smith, the gold lion in the upper third of the flag alludes to either the Royal Arms of England or the coat of arms of the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Both states had ties to New Brunswick – the former was its colonial ruler from 1713 until Confederation in 1867, while the latter lends its name to the province. On the other hand, the lymphad occupying the bottom two thirds of the flag may be evoking New Brunswick's historical shipbuilding industry or the ships utilized by numerous Loyalists to land in the province after they fled the United States in the aftermath of the American Revolutionary War. Although shipbuilding was New Brunswick's dominant economic activity at the time the coat of arms was assigned, the industry declined significantly after Confederation, leading to a period of recession in the province.