This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website

# University of Ottawa (Canada)

##

Last modified: 2026-07-04 by rob raeside
Keywords: university of ottawa | ontario | books: 2 | fleur de lys | trilliums | gold lamp | lamp |
Links: FOTW homepage | search | disclaimer and copyright | write us | mirrors

image by Eugene Ipavec, 28 June 2006
Source: University of Ottawa website

- Description of the flag
- Faculty of Medicine
- School of Nursing

See also:

- Ottawa
- Ontario
- Educational Institutions (Canada)

## Description of the flag

At the University of Ottawa brand site are examples of flag order in use at the University of Ottawa.

The French version (the university is bilingual) here.

The description of the Coat of Arms on the flag is:

> The Coat of Arms of the University of Ottawa, which was received from the Governor General of Canada as a grant from the Canadian Crown, is based on concepts suggested in 1989 by a committee headed by Rector Antoine D'Iorio and on a shield designed in 1971 by the former Dean of Medicine, the late Jean-Jacques Lussier who had an abiding interest in heraldry. The concept of the shield is a metaphor for the University. On the red (garnet) shield rest silver (grey) escutcheons that symbolize the various faculties, departments and sections of the University. A broad silver band symbolizes the union of the whole institution. On it are two open books representing teaching and research, which are the two essential functions of a university. They bear, appearing separate but equal, the fleur-de-lys and rose as symbols of the two great traditions that have influenced our University since the middle of the 19th century.

> The crest element is a wreath of fleurs-de-lys and trilliums symbolizing our ties to Ontario and notably to the Francophone community. Rising out of the wreath is a stylized neo-classical building with six columns representing the buildings of the University with the pediment of the building bearing an antique gold lamp of learning.

Colour "garnet" (shield - flag). See the page on the official colors.
Jan Mertens, 10 February 2006

image located by Dave Fowler, 6 May 2020

A photo indicates that the details in the arms are more like the illustration on the Governor General website: https://reg.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/project-pic.asp?lang=e&ProjectID=1452&ProjectElementID=4856
Coat of Arms:

image located by Dave Fowler, 6 May 2020
Branding:
https://www.uottawa.ca/human-resources/sites/www.uottawa.ca.human-resources/files/uottawavisual_id_guide_aug25.pdf
Dave Fowler, 6 May 2020

## Faculty of Medicine

image located by Dave Fowler, 27 December 2025

From https://www.gg.ca/en/heraldry/public-register/project/3759
Blazon
Per pale Gules and Argent on a fess wavy between three snakes nowed and erect counterchanged the Royal Crown proper, all within a bordure Sable charged with eight open books Or bound Gules;
Symbolism
Red and white are the national colours of Canada. Here, they represent English and French, the nation’s two official languages, and, consequently, the fact that the University of Ottawa is a bilingual institution. The wavy central band represents the Ottawa River. The Royal Crown recalls that Ottawa is the national capital. The coiled snakes evoke that of the rod of Aesculapius, the traditional emblem of medicine. The three snakes also represent the Faculty’s three levels of studies: undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral. The golden books on the black border evoke the light of science and knowledge overcoming the darkness of ignorance and fear.

Crest
Blazon
A demi-pelican vulning herself proper collared per pale wavy Gules and Argent;
Symbolism
In ancient legend and Christian tradition, the pelican is the embodiment of sacrifice and compassion. Here, it represents the practice of medicine. The wavy division of the collar repeats the symbolism of the Arms.
Motto
SANANDO DOCEMUS;
Symbolism
This Latin phrase means “In healing, we teach.”

Dave Fowler, 27 December 2025

## School of Nursing

image located by Dave Fowler, 29 June 2026

From https://www.gg.ca/en/heraldry/public-register/project/3836
Blazon
Azure semé of spur rowels of six points Or, an antique lamp Argent enflamed Gules;
Symbolism
The lamp has been a widely recognized symbol of the nursing profession since the famous nursing service of Florence Nightingale during the Crimean War in the 1850s. The spur rowels are taken from the arms of Eugène de Mazenod, the French bishop who founded the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, the religious order that established the University of Ottawa and its school of nursing..

Crest
Blazon
A pelican in her piety proper collared per pale Azure and Or all between two spur rowels of six points Azure;
Symbolism
The image of a pelican feeding its own blood to its young is a symbol of self-sacrifice, representing the compassion nurses show to others. The pelican with its collar in the school’s colours echoes the similarly adorned pelican that appears in the crest of the university’s Faculty of Medicine. The spur rowels repeat the symbolism of the Arms.
Motto
ALIIS SUBVENTUROS DOCEMUS;
Symbolism
This Latin phrase means “We teach people who in turn will help others.”

Dave Fowler, 29 June 2026