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Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, Quebec (Canada)

image by Ivan Sache, 9 July 2019

Description of the flag
Heraldic flag

See also:

Description of the flag

The municipality of Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier (3,382 inhabitants in 2016; 44,117 ha) is located in the northern part of the Quebec Urban Community, 25 km from Quebec downtown, and 15 km north-east from Shannon, the capital of MRC La Jacques-Cartier.

Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier was settled in 1812 by European colonists, who built a road connecting river Jacques-Cartier (178 km, tributary of the Saint-Lawrence) to Loretteville. In 1815, four businessmen from Quebec, John Neilson, Andrew Stuart, Louis Moquin and Nicholas Vincent, purchased several plots from he Society of Jesus and organized the colonization of the area. John Neilson called for the establishment of a durable farmers' settlement equipped with schools and other services. The churches reflect the diversity of the first settlers: St. Andrews church (Scottish Presbyterian, 1843); Christ Church (Anglican, 1863), St. Gabriel Church (Roman Catholic, 1852, increased in 1911), keeping the oldest altar in Quebec Diocese, designed around 1770 by François-Noël Levasseur; and St. Andrews church (United Church of Canada, 1926).

The today's municipality of Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier was established in October 1985 as the merger of the former municipalities of Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier and Saint-Gabriel Ouest, which had been established on 18 May 1861 as the splitting of the old municipality of Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, erected in 1845.
http://saint-gabriel-de-valcartier.ca/
Municipal website

The flag of Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, designed in 2018, is in proportions 1:2, vertically divided (1:2:1) green-white-green with thin golden-yellow stripes separating the green and white fields, and the municipal logo in the center.
http://saint-gabriel-de-valcartier.ca/municipalite/%e2%80%a2devise-logos-armoiries/ Municipal website

The logo represents the characteristic elements of the local landscape: the mountains, the forest, the farmland, and the river. The tree trunk divided in two, symbolizes the two languages, forming a one and only tree, the municipality. The logo reflects the bilingual municipal motto, created in 2005 by Louise Verret, "Ensemble, au cœur de la nature, Together, in the heart of nature".
http://saint-gabriel-de-valcartier.ca/upload/saint-gabriel-de-valcartier/editor/asset/Logo%20et%20description.pdf
Municipal website

Image from the municipal website: http://saint-gabriel-de-valcartier.ca/municipalite/%e2%80%a2devise-logos-armoiries/
Ivan Sache, 9 July 2019

Heraldic flag

image located by Dave Fowler, 24 December 2021
based on https://www.gg.ca/en/heraldry/public-register/project/3358

Municipalité de Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, Quebec
Grant of Arms, Supporters and Flag
September 15, 2021
Vol. VIII, p. 19

Blazon
Vert a winged sextant, on a pile Or a Bowen knot interlaced with an annulus Vert;

Symbolism
Green and gold are the municipality’s emblematic colours. Green symbolizes nature, while gold represents sunny days, alluding to Saint-Gabriel-de-Valcartier as a place of abundant natural beauty and a desirable community in which to live. The triangle evokes both its geographic location, in the valley of the Jacques-Cartier River, and the letter V, the first letter in Valcartier, referring to the name of the municipality and that of the Canadian Forces base situated in the municipality and related to its identity. The loop and ring forming a compass rose is a Celtic knot that symbolizes harmony and travel. It represents the community spirit of the municipality, the exploration that led to its founding, and the Irish and Scottish immigrants who settled there in the 19th century. The cross formed by the quadruple loop also recalls that its land belonged to the Jesuits before it was acquired by four Québec businessmen. The wings embody the Archangel Gabriel and the sextant, exploration and, by extension, the explorer Jacques Cartier, after whom the river and the municipality were named. The wings also allude to poultry farming, a major regional economic driver.
Dave Fowler, 24 December 2021