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A Mari usque ad Mare
Canada’s official motto is A Mari usque ad Mare, which translates as “From Sea to Sea.” The phrase began during Confederation as an aspirational statement, before Canada encompassed enough territory to make it a reality.
Origins
A Mari usque ad Mare comes from the Bible’s Psalm 72:8, which reads in Latin: Et dominabitur a mari usque ad mare, et a flumine usque ad terminos terrae. The King James version puts it into English: "He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth."
The verse was first applied to Canada when, apparently at the suggestion of New Brunswick's Samuel Leonard Tilley, the term dominion was chosen to represent Canada as a whole when the British North America Act was drafted in 1867.
Sir Samuel Leonard Tilley
Samuel Leonard Tilley played the most important role in bringing New Brunswick into Confederation.
At that time, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were the founding provinces of the Dominion of Canada. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia gave the new country a border on the Atlantic Ocean. However, "From Sea to Sea" did not geographically apply to Canada until 1871, when British Columbia joined Confederation and the Dominion extended from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Reverend George Monro Grant
In 1872 Reverend George Monro Grant crossed the country as secretary to Sandford Flemming, who was then in charge of the Pacific railway surveys. The next year Grant published Ocean to Ocean, his journal describing the journey. The title is akin to "From Sea to Sea." Tradition tells that from this point on, Grant preached in many places, using Psalm 72:8 as his text and advocating the adoption of "From Sea to Sea" as Canada's motto.
Official Motto
The first official use of the term came in 1906, when the phrase was engraved on the head of the mace of the Legislative Assembly of the new province of Saskatchewan. This engraving would have been known to Joseph Pope, federal under-secretary of state at the time, and the phrase evidently impressed him.
In 1919 Pope was named to a four-member committee appointed by the federal government to recommend a new design for the coat of arms of Canada. No motto was included in the old design, but one was to be included in the new arms. A draft design, which included the motto, was approved by the federal Cabinet in April 1921 and by King George V in May.
Major-General Willoughby Gwatkin, one of the committee members, had proposed that the motto be In memoriam in spem ("In memory, in hope"), but Pope's counterproposal was adopted instead.
On 29 September 1921, after viewing the final design, Pope wrote in his diary: "Our Arms are very handsome ... everything that can be desired. The motto A Mari usque ad Mare, which is an original suggestion of my own, I regard as very appropriate."
Arctic Ocean
In 2006, the leaders of Canada’s three northern territories (Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut) marked the 100th anniversary of Canada’s motto by proposing a new one. Instead of “From Sea to Sea,” they suggested “From Sea to Sea to Sea,” with the new phrase incorporating Canada’s third oceanic border, the Arctic Ocean.
Yukon Premier Dennis Fentie argued such a change would better reflect Canada’s full extent, adding a “north-south perspective” to the dominant east-west way of thinking. The premiers said that as climate change affects the far North, it will be increasingly important for Canada to establish its claims along its northern ocean. Melting polar ice could finally clear the fabled Northwest Passage for shipping and allow greater access to the North’s natural resources.
While the official motto has not been changed, many Canadians already colloquially use the phrase “from sea to sea to sea” in describing the country. For example, when CBC broadcaster Peter Gzowski died in 2002, then-prime minister Jean Chretien described him as “an unforgettable presence who will be terribly missed from sea to sea to sea.” When Prime Minister Stephen Harper officially opened construction on the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk highway in the Northwest Territories in 2014, he said the road would for the first time connect Canada “from sea to sea to sea.”
Article by W. Kaye Lamb
Updated by Jon Tattrie
Published Online February 6, 2006
Last Edited April 14, 2016
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Royal Canadian Mint
An ode to the oceans! Selective gold plating highlights marine life along Canada's coastline!
Canada's national motto, "A mari usque ad mare", pays tribute to the oceans that have nurtured, challenged and fascinated us throughout our history. From the smallest invertebrates to the mightiest whales, many of our most cherished cultural traditions have sprung from the wondrous species living in the Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic oceans.
This rich biodiversity is an important part of our maritime heritage—and is also at the heart of a magnificent three-coin series. Beginning with the Atlantic starfish, each beautifully engraved coin dives in to look at life beneath the ocean waves, with selective gold plating showcasing some of the creatures that are a source of pride from coast to coast…to coast!
 First Coin Design: Atlantic Starfish
Designed by Canadian artist Tony Bianco, the first coin is a unique glimpse of Atlantic Canada's coastal waters.
Beneath the engraved word "CANADA" stands a lighthouse on the rocky shoreline, where the sentinel was often the first sign of land to many travelling by sea. The crashing wave infuses the reverse with a sense of sweeping motion while transitioning to the underwater realm, where an outstanding amount of engraved details recreate an ocean floor littered with shells and dotted with coral. The use of selective gold plating draws the eye to the two starfish, while providing an enhanced view of their defining characteristics. Against the silver background, the gold plating truly shines as it highlights the rough and spiny appearance of the five-armed ocean-dwellers, and adds a life-like sense of texture and dimension to this idyllic aquatic setting.
 Second Coin Design: Pacific Salmon
Designed by Canadian artist Tony Bianco, the coin's design travels to the coastal waters of British Columbia to offer a glimpse of marine life in the Pacific Ocean.
The engraved word "CANADA" hangs in the air over the breaking swell waves, which add a sense of motion to the design as they sweep over the increasingly shallow water. Transitioning to the underwater realm, an exceptional amount of detail brings the rock-lined sea floor to life; one can easily imagine the soft swaying motion of the plants as each wave moves overtop in quick succession. Nonetheless, the focus of the design remains the two chinook salmon (Oncorhynchustshawytscha) as they feast on small fish; the use of selective gold plating highlights the intricacy of the engraved design, which recreates the textured appearance of the salmon's scales and fins to provide a more life-like portrait of this iconic species.
 Third Coin Design: Arctic Beluga
Designed by Canadian artist Tony Bianco, the coin's image peers into the waters off Canada's northern coast for a glimpse of an iconic marine species.
The engraved word "CANADA" hangs above a rugged mountain peak, which rises up from the snow and ice-covered shores of the Arctic Ocean. Sweeping over the increasingly shallow water, the breaking swell adds a sense of movement to the design; the motion of the water's surface also marks a dynamic transition to the underwater realm, where detailed engraving recreates the rock-lined ocean floor. The selective use of gold plating shines the spotlight on three engraved whales: an adult beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) on the left is shown in side profile as it curiously lifts its head above the water; another lifts its flukes above water while releasing a stream of underwater bubbles from its blowhole, while its curved descent is mimicked by the calf at its side
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