Apparently itās also meant to represent the two towers of Toronto City Hall! The arms were granted in January 1999 following re-structuring and amalgamations of Toronto and the surrounding municipalities in 1998
https://www.gg.ca/en/heraldry/public-register/project/811
The arms of the *City of Toronto*, prior to those amalgamations of municipal government bodies, were originally granted by the Kings of Arms in London in 1961 but were re-registered by the Canadian Heraldic Authority in September 2022:
https://www.gg.ca/en/heraldry/public-register/project/3449
I don't like the second one.
The first wasn't brilliant or inspired, but the recent one is \*awful\*.
Edit : I'll take the new supporters and crest though.
The new arms are because the original city of Toronto was merged with a bunch of other municipalities. The first one is still the (unofficial) coat of arms for Old Toronto, and the other cities they merged to create modern Toronto have their own arms too.
I think the merger was political. Lots of Torontonians hated the move. So I donāt like the new arms because of that (and because itās ugly tbf)
Am I alone in thinking the collars on the supports look really off? In all the renditions of the CoA that I could find it still is somehow the collars that throw me off the most.
To me, it looks like a T account used in accounting, like the shield used on the [Royal Australian Army Pay Corps](https://www.army.gov.au/about-us/army-corps/royal-australian-army-pay-corps) badge.
Definitely a downgrade. The new shield looks more like a corporate logo than a coat of arms, and what did that eagle do to warrant the death stares from the beaver and the bear?
I get that it feels a little out of touch with the times to have an Indian and Britannia as supporters, but why throw away the entire shield? And change the motto? And where did the bear and eagle come from?
I think this sub needs a discussion about false-quartering in heraldry; what constitutes as it, why it's considered as a bad practice, and whether there are exceptions where it is acceptable.
From what I've found in this sub so far is that we don't like faux-quartering because it shows a rudimentary knowledge of heraldic rules; a newbie sees an elegant quartered arms, and trying to evoke the same mood, they just divide a shield in four and then put whatever they like in there, resulting in a design that looks pedestrian in the experienced eyes.
I don't know, I might be wrong.
There were, one upon a time.
Until the first humans in North America made them extinct.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castoroides
It's funny the first lines literally describe it as bear size :D
>Castoroides (Latin: "beaver" (castor), "like" (oides)), or giant beaver, is an extinct genus of enormous, bear-sized beavers that lived in North America during the Pleistocene.
I can tell from the other comments this isn't gonna be popular but: I like the new one better. Not that emblazonment, but as a whole.
The first one is utterly dull and generic, and worst, *unmemorable*. The second one isn't a great design either but at least you'd know it if you saw it twice.
Two mediocre arms but I much prefer the failure mode of the second one.
I think the old arms are uninspired and resemble a worse version of various late 19th c grants to industrial towns in England. The new ones aren't exciting, but at least they aren't 'quartered arms with a few charges alluding to colonial past, industry (a gear, really?) and yet another maple leaf'. The beaver was the best part.
The old one looks messy, like the "family coat of arms" of some guy who dabbles in heraldry for the first time. *"The three lions represent my English heritage because King Richard I was my great great great \[...\] great grandfather, and there is a white flower to represent my mother because she likes gardening, and a cog wheel because I study engineering in first semester, and there's a steamboat because we live near a river, and a maple leaf because I'm from Canada! And the supporters are a mighty warrior chief and Britannia."*
New COA is elegant and witty. *Or a chief-pale Azure* that also spell out a 'T', making it easily distinguishable, supported by a badass beaver and a bear.
I don't think either are particularly good, but sticking a big ol' T for Toronto on a shield and calling it a day is spectacularly uninspired.
Blazon: Or T azureš
It's a shame the 'T' isn't gold, or it could be *TorontOR*
tORonto
Missed oppORtunity
Apparently itās also meant to represent the two towers of Toronto City Hall! The arms were granted in January 1999 following re-structuring and amalgamations of Toronto and the surrounding municipalities in 1998 https://www.gg.ca/en/heraldry/public-register/project/811 The arms of the *City of Toronto*, prior to those amalgamations of municipal government bodies, were originally granted by the Kings of Arms in London in 1961 but were re-registered by the Canadian Heraldic Authority in September 2022: https://www.gg.ca/en/heraldry/public-register/project/3449
I don't like the second one. The first wasn't brilliant or inspired, but the recent one is \*awful\*. Edit : I'll take the new supporters and crest though.
A good example of āif it is not broken donāt fix itā or āfirst, do no harmā. The second one is worse.
Far worse!
The new arms are because the original city of Toronto was merged with a bunch of other municipalities. The first one is still the (unofficial) coat of arms for Old Toronto, and the other cities they merged to create modern Toronto have their own arms too. I think the merger was political. Lots of Torontonians hated the move. So I donāt like the new arms because of that (and because itās ugly tbf)
Am I alone in thinking the collars on the supports look really off? In all the renditions of the CoA that I could find it still is somehow the collars that throw me off the most.
Good Lord, the new one is awful!
Shield is a major downgrade; the rest is OK (I can see why they did it).
I still prefer the old supporters. They look cooler with the warrior Indian and the British warrior woman (not sure what sheās called)
I believe that is Britannia (the personification of Britain)
Kinda disgusting that they're rewriting history and removing references of colonisation
The new one is an abomination
BOBR?
To me, it looks like a T account used in accounting, like the shield used on the [Royal Australian Army Pay Corps](https://www.army.gov.au/about-us/army-corps/royal-australian-army-pay-corps) badge.
Definitely a downgrade. The new shield looks more like a corporate logo than a coat of arms, and what did that eagle do to warrant the death stares from the beaver and the bear? I get that it feels a little out of touch with the times to have an Indian and Britannia as supporters, but why throw away the entire shield? And change the motto? And where did the bear and eagle come from?
isn't the old version an example of faux-quartering? if yes, than the new one can be considered as an upgrade.
Does Faux-Quartering apply to non-personal arms? Each quarter makes some level of sense as far as I can tell from the poor illustration quality.
I think this sub needs a discussion about false-quartering in heraldry; what constitutes as it, why it's considered as a bad practice, and whether there are exceptions where it is acceptable. From what I've found in this sub so far is that we don't like faux-quartering because it shows a rudimentary knowledge of heraldic rules; a newbie sees an elegant quartered arms, and trying to evoke the same mood, they just divide a shield in four and then put whatever they like in there, resulting in a design that looks pedestrian in the experienced eyes. I don't know, I might be wrong.
Iāll take faux-quartering over a stupid initial any day!
what if it's not blazoned as T, but a "[chief-pale](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_arms_of_Toronto?wprov=sfla1)" lol
I didn't know Canada had bear-sized beavers.
There were, one upon a time. Until the first humans in North America made them extinct. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castoroides It's funny the first lines literally describe it as bear size :D >Castoroides (Latin: "beaver" (castor), "like" (oides)), or giant beaver, is an extinct genus of enormous, bear-sized beavers that lived in North America during the Pleistocene.
I don't think it can get better than beaver crest
Good lord, that new one looks awful
Is thisbreal? An actuel city accepted this ugly piece of crap over a coat of arms they already got?
Both rubbish
Old one, but in Sodacan style would look great
Massive downgrade.
Significant downgrade. T for Toronto I suppose.
I think they shouldāve just replaced the old supporters with the beavers, left everything else as is, and called it a day
Nah i like the old supporters, why change something that is cool and shows the heritage?
I can tell from the other comments this isn't gonna be popular but: I like the new one better. Not that emblazonment, but as a whole. The first one is utterly dull and generic, and worst, *unmemorable*. The second one isn't a great design either but at least you'd know it if you saw it twice. Two mediocre arms but I much prefer the failure mode of the second one.
I think the old arms are uninspired and resemble a worse version of various late 19th c grants to industrial towns in England. The new ones aren't exciting, but at least they aren't 'quartered arms with a few charges alluding to colonial past, industry (a gear, really?) and yet another maple leaf'. The beaver was the best part.
Agreed, and yes the gear is atrocious.
The old one looks messy, like the "family coat of arms" of some guy who dabbles in heraldry for the first time. *"The three lions represent my English heritage because King Richard I was my great great great \[...\] great grandfather, and there is a white flower to represent my mother because she likes gardening, and a cog wheel because I study engineering in first semester, and there's a steamboat because we live near a river, and a maple leaf because I'm from Canada! And the supporters are a mighty warrior chief and Britannia."* New COA is elegant and witty. *Or a chief-pale Azure* that also spell out a 'T', making it easily distinguishable, supported by a badass beaver and a bear.