Arms of Anthony Wilfred James Whitford

Blazon

Gules a bend wavy between in chief a black spruce tree and in base a mountain avens flower Argent, on a chief Azure three billets wavy fesswise Argent;

Symbolism

The colours of red and blue are Mr. Whitford’s favourites. The colours of red and white are also the colours of Canada to which Mr. Whitford has given long service. The structure of the arms follows that of the arms of the Northwest Territories. The white wavy strip represents the river running from south to north in the territory and alludes to the name “Whitford” because a ford always requires a river. It also is of significance for trade and travel in the lives of Mr. Whitford and his family and friends. The mountain aven is the territorial flower. The swamp spruce, an informal name for black spruce, appears as a stylized tree as part of his signature. The blue chief and wavy bars, the latter representing rapids or “white waters”, allude to Mr. Whitford’s birthplace of Fort Smith, originally known as “Thebacha” in the Indigenous language of the area, and which has rapids in its neighbourhood. The three segments represent his three sons.