The City of Coquitlam motto is -
ANIMUS FLUMINUS VIRES POPULI
The Spirit of the Rivers (is) the Strength of the People
On October 30 1990, the coat of arms with the above inscription was received officially at a ceremony held in the Council Chambers of Coquitlam's old Municipal Hall.
The symbolism in the armorial bearings (the area between the two Clydesdale Stallions) signifies:
The wavy blue horizontal band across the middle of the shield is seen in two ways. As a single blue wavy line it represents the Fraser River and the gold wavy centre becomes a reference to the Gold Rush of the 1850s. It can also be seen as two wavy bars to represent the Pitt and Coquitlam Rivers with the gold centre becoming a symbol of prosperity.
The fleur-de-lys at the base of the shield is a reference to the French Canadian settlers who came to Maillardville in the early days.
The upper part of the shield - called the chief - is blue and on it is placed a five-leaved device known as a cinquefoil. In Scottish heraldry this symbol is called a fraise and is a pun on the name of Simon Fraser who came by in his canoe in 1808 exploring the river which bears his name. On either side of the fraise are two dogwood flowers, a reference to the Province of B.C. and the symbol formerly used by the City of Coquitlam. The edge of the chief is crenellated like the rampart of a fort and is a reference to the Royal Engineers who had a fort in this region in the early days.
Above the helmet is the crest, in this case a coronet, the rim of which repeats the symbols found in the chief in the shield below.
The supporters on either side of the shield are Clydesdale Stallions. These horses were used by early settlers to clear the land of Coquitlam and to break the soil for the first farmers. The blue fraise on the shoulder of each stallion is to identify the horse as being uniquely Coquitlam's.
The design of the coat of arms was done with the assistance of Mr. Graham Anderson, a Cowichan, B.C. resident who is knowledgeable in heraldry.
The artist who interpreted the heraldry design was Mr. Alistair Priestly of Port Moody, B.C.