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Canada....leading the way!

The beaver
The beaver was given official status as an emblem of Canada when “An Act to provide for the recognition of the Beaver (Castor canadensis) as a symbol of the sovereignty of Canada” received royal assent on March 24, 1975. However, the beaver was a part of the Canadian identity long before Parliament passed the National Symbol of Canada Act.

Historical significance of the beaver
After the early European explorers realized Canada was not the spice-rich Orient, the main profit-making attraction was the beaver population. In the late 1600s and early 1700s, the fashion of the day demanded fur hats, which needed beaver pelts. As these hats became more popular, the demand for the pelts grew.

King Henry IV of France saw the fur trade as an opportunity to acquire much-needed revenue and to establish a North American empire. Both English and French fur traders were soon selling beaver pelts in Europe at 20 times their original purchase price.

The trade of beaver pelts proved so profitable that many Canadians felt compelled to pay tribute to the buck-toothed animal.

Sir William Alexander, who was granted title to Nova Scotia in 1621, was the first to include the beaver in a coat of arms.
The Hudson’s Bay Company put four beavers on the shield of its coat of arms in 1678 to show how important the hard-working rodent was to the company.
A coin was created – which was known as a “buck” – that was equal to the value of one male beaver pelt.
Louis de Buade de Frontenac, Governor of New France in 1678, suggested the beaver would be a suitable emblem for the colony – and proposed it be included in the coat of arms of the City of Québec.
The French Kebeca Liberata medal, created in 1690 to celebrate France’s successful defence of the City of Québec, depicts the image of a seated woman (representing France) with a beaver at her feet (representing Canada).
When the City of Montréal was incorporated in 1833, it included the beaver’s image in its coat of arms.
Sir Sandford Fleming featured the beaver on the first Canadian postage stamp – the Three Penny Beaver – in 1851.
Le Canadien, a newspaper published in Lower Canada Footnote 1, featured the beaver in its masthead.
The Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste included the beaver in one of its emblems for a time.
The Canadian Pacific Railway company still includes the beaver on its crest today.
Despite this recognition, the beaver was close to extinction by the mid-19th century. There were an estimated six million beavers in Canada before the start of the fur trade. During its peak, 100,000 pelts were being shipped to Europe each year; the Canadian beaver was in danger of being wiped out. Luckily, about that time, Europeans took a liking to silk hats and the demand for beaver pelts all but disappeared.

Today, thanks to conservation and silk hats, the beaver – the largest rodent in Canada – is alive and well all over the country.