The Acadian and francophone community of
Nova Scotia

Acadian symbols

The Acadian flag

The Acadian flag was chosen in Miscouche, PEI in 1884 at the second national Acadian Convention. The flag was designed and suggested by Father Marcel François Richard, and was sewn by Marie Babineau. The first flag is now preserved in the Acadian museum at Université de Moncton.

To honour the French heritage of Acadians, the Acadian flag is based on the blue, white and red flag of France. The blue band represents the harmony between sea and sky, the white represents purity of the spirit and peace in the present, while the red symbolizes the pain and suffering of the past.

The yellow star, symbol of the Virgin Mary, was added to the upper left corner of the blue band to represent the Catholic faith. This star of the sea, Stella Maris, provides Mary's light and protection to guide mariners through storms and around shoals, toward the future.

Evangeline

The story of Evangeline, written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in 1847 as a poem of 1,400 lines, tells about the tragic events of the Acadian Deportation through the fictional narrative of two lovers.

Evangeline Bellefontaine and her fiancé, Gabriel Lajeunesse, are suddenly separated in 1755 when the British decide to expel the Acadians from Nova Scotia. The story takes place in the village of Grand-Pré. Evangeline promises Gabriel that their love will protect them from harm. Despite the pain and suffering, she never loses hope of finding her lover again one day. After years of wandering, she finally traces Gabriel to a hospital in Philadelphia. She comes to his side and Gabriel dies in her arms. A short time later, she dies as well, of a broken heart.

A wonderful bronze statue of Evangeline, designed by Louis-Philippe and Henri Hébert, was unveiled in 1920 at what is now the national historic site of Grand Pré. This statue symbolises the loyalty and courage of the Acadian people.

The Deportation Cross

In 1924, the Deportation Cross was erected near the railway about one mile from the memorial church at the national historic site of Grand-Pré. It was erected in memory of the Acadians deported in 1755. In 2005, the cross was moved to Horton Landing, where hundreds of Acadians waited in the fall of 1755 to be transported to the ships anchored in Minas Basin. They were deported to the British American colonies on the Atlantic coast. Acadians living in the other communities along the Bay of Fundy were deported in the same way. During the fall of 1755, more than 6,000 Acadians were deported from Nova Scotia.

Acadian Monument

On 2 December 2003, the Government of Canada adopted the content of the Royal Proclamation by Queen Elizabeth II, recognizing the historic facts of the Deportation of the Acadian people and the suffering they endured. At the same time, the Government of Canada officially declared 28 July of each year as the Day of Commemoration of the Great Upheaval, the name commonly used to describe the period of the Deportation, which began in 1755 and continued until 1763.

On 28 July 2005, to mark the 250th anniversary of the Deportation, a replica of the Deportation Cross was unveiled at the Halifax water front. This commemorative monument faces Georges Island in the port of Halifax, where hundreds of Acadians were imprisoned during the Great Upheaval from 1755 to 1763.