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Strathcona County, Alberta (Canada)

image located by Darrell Neuman, 13 September 2015

Description of the flag
Former flags

Municipalities in Strathcona County:

None known with flags

See also:

Description of the flag

Strathcona County in Alberta has just recently adopted a new flag which is displayed outside of the Administration Building. A picture of this flag is attached to this message. The flag features the County's new coat of arms on a white background in the center along with two bright green areas on either side of the coat of arms. The words "Strathcona County" are featured below the coat of arms in a blue colored font.

A description of the County's new coat of arms is available from this link: http://www.strathcona.ca/local-government/about-strathcona-county/coat-arms-flag-logo/

Strathcona County’s Coat of Arms was adopted in September 2015. The design reflects and celebrates the County’s history, heritage and culture, while upholding the character of our brand identity.

Strathcona County’s flag is blazoned with the coat of arms:
Lion in crest represents our namesake, Lord Strathcona.
Coronet inspired by the Scots word "Strath", a valley between a chain of hills.
Horses were used by the Aboriginal people and were essential to early settlers.
Beaver, a dominant species in the Beaver Hills Moraine, is significant to the fur trade.
Wheat patterns for the new crops of the settler era.
Embattled edge looks like an urban skyline.
Aspen poplar tree for growth and renewal, and roots for community.
Many arrowheads of the Aboriginal people have been found in Strathcona County.
Oats and the grassy mound signify a strong agricultural industry.
Black and gold wavy bar flows like the movement of oil, symbolizing the refining industry.
Motto translates as "Growing through History".
Darrell Neuman, 13 September 2015

The arms of Strathcona County were inscribed on 20 February 2015 on the Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges, Vol. VI, p. 486. The announcement of the Letters Patent was made on 3 October 2015, in Vol. 149, p. 2,336 of the Canada Gazette.

Blazon
Arms
Per fess enhanced azure and vert a fess enhanced embattled tapissé of wheat between in chief a beaver couchant and in base an aspen poplar tree eradicated between two arrowheads or.

Crest
Issuant from a coronet its upper rim set with garbs between two triangles vert, a demi-lion or.

Supporters
Two horses proper standing on a grassy mount vert set with oat stalks or rising from barry wavy or and sable.

Motto
CRESCENS PER HISTORIAM

Symbolism
Arms
Green and blue are the corporate colours of the county, with the gold representing the prosperity of the community. The beaver alludes to the nearby Beaver Hills as well as the industry generated by the fur traders of the Hudson’s Bay Company. The aspen poplar tree is a local species, and it alludes to the idea of growth and renewal, as well as interconnectedness. The arrowheads refer to the First Nations who lived off the land. The horizontal bar of wheat represents the new crops of the settler era, while its embattled edge represents a silhouette of a city skyline of buildings.

Crest
The gold lion is taken from the armorial bearings of the county’s namesake, Lord Strathcona, a Governor of the Hudson’s Bay Company. The coronet of peaks flanking wheat garbs alludes to the meaning of the Scottish Gaelic word “strath”, a long, wide, low-lying valley between hills on either side.

Supporters
The horses represent the county’s horse-related industry and large population of horses. The oats, an early county crop, symbolize the agriculture industry. The black wavy bar evokes the refining industry and the movement of oil.

Motto
This Latin phrase, meaning “Growing through history”, alludes to the growth of the community.

Artist Information
Creator(s): Original concept of Darrel Kennedy, Assiniboine Herald, assisted by the heralds of the Canadian Heraldic Authority.

Painter: Robert Grey

Calligrapher: Doris Wionzek

http://reg.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/project.asp?lang=e&ProjectID=2677 - Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges

Ivan Sache, 17 April 2017

Former flags

image by Dean McGee, 2 February 2006

At the county website is a picture and description of the county "crest":

The crest was adopted in 1967, and it avoids the "round logo divided into four" pattern common in Canadian (and US) cities in the 60s and 70s by dividing the circle into six sections, each with a symbol of the county.

This is the official crest of Strathcona County, it also appears on our municipal flag.

The design was chosen as a result of a contest during Canada's Centennial Year, 1967. The winner of the contest was Mrs. Mary Tiedemann, who used the wagon wheel to encompass six symbols:

A sheaf of grain representing the farming community

The head of a cow which represents the dairy industry

Oil tanks and towers to represent the industry of the County

The wild rose, which is the official flower of the Province of Alberta of which we are a part

An old fort which symbolizes many settlement beginnings in the Province

A suburban house representing the urban area of Strathcona and in particular Sherwood Park

The 2004 population: 76000 (third most populous municipality in Alberta). Most of these live in the (unincorporated) area of Sherwood Park, which borders on the City of Edmonton.

Its status was changed to a "Specialized Municipality" in 1996, when the status of "county" was eliminated in Alberta, but kept "county" as part of its name.
Dean McGee, 2 February 2006

image contributed by Darrell Neuman, 23 April 2006

The previous Strathcona County flag had a blue background, now has a similar design but with a burgundy colored background.
Darrell Neuman, 23 April 2006