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Acton Vale, Quebec (Canada)

Acton RCM, Montérégie

Last modified: 2022-03-31 by rob raeside
Keywords: acton vale | quebec | saint andrew cross: ragged | fleur-de-lys | maple leaf | crown |
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[Acton Vale flag] image by Masao Okazaki, 3 March 2022
based on photo located by Dave Fowler, 3 March 2022
 

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Municipality

The town of Acton Vale (7,791 inhabitants in 2018; 9,088 ha) is located 40 k km south of Drummondville. The town was established in 2000 as the merger of the former town of Acton Vale with the parish municipality of Saint-André-d'Acton.
Ivan Sache, 3 March 2022


Logo flag

A logo flag is now flown outside the city hall.
Flag is a logo on white.
Dave Fowler, 3 March 2022

The logo is composed of tow elements, the typography in black and the graphic symbol in blue.
In the upper part, "A" and "V", for the town' name, converge and invite the eye to move from one to the other. The graphic play represents the two provincial roads that meets in the downtown.
Featured in the logo's lover part, the two wave y blue lines form waves that represent the two rivers watering the territory, one in the rural area and the other in the urban area. Water has always been and will always be a precious resource for the natural environment. Blue, a symbol of calm and peace, emphasizes the quality of life offered by the town and its surroundings.

https://ville.actonvale.qc.ca/ma-ville/vie-municipale/logo-et-armoiries
Town website
Ivan Sache, 3 March 2022


Heraldic flag

[Acton Vale flag] image by Luc Baronian

I saw the flag in July 1998. Translated from city documentation:

The city is locate in a parish dedicated to St Andrew, whose martyr is illustrated by the color red. The rough edges of the cross evoke Scottish thistles. The golden fleur-de-lys underscores the Francophone majority. The oak is an allusion to the etymology of the Anglo-Saxon word "Acton". Oaks are rather rare in the area, but the Appalachian foothills do suggest a vale. The mural crown is a civic symbol, and the maple leaves are a reference to Canada. The silver maple, abundant in the area, is the variety chosen. The motto "ACTIONE VALE" is a Latin transposition of the name. It is an invitation to the population to assume the growth of the city in all domains by its dynamism and perseverance.
Luc Baronian, 22 May 2005

The arms are "Argent a saltire engrailed gules charged with a fleur-de-lis or cantoned with four acorns vert. The shield surmounted by a mural crown or masoned sable and supported by two branch of maple vert tied in base superimposed by a scroll or inscribed 'ACTIONE VALE' in letters sable."

The red saltire represents the martyr of St. Andrew, the patron saint of the parish where Acton Vale is located. The engrailed border of the saltire evokes the thistles of Scotland, which has also St. Andrew as its patron saint.
The golden yellow fleur-de-lis, once the charge of the flags of the kings of France, recalls that the French-speaking population has been dominant in Acton Vale since its beginning.
The oak acorns unveil the origin of the name of Acton canton, which was given to the territory when proclaimed in 1792. Of Anglo-Saxon, nearly millennial origin, Ac'tun suggests the presence of oaks in some places, although the tree is quite uncommon in the region. Acton comes from Saxon "ac", "an oak", and "tun", "a farm", "an enclosure", or from "downtown, "oaks town". the green color, as a symbol of hope, promises a vigorous growth.
Vale, meaning "a small valley", is related to the beginning of the Appalachian mountains, which is characteristic of the Eastern Cantons.
The mural crown is proper to towns, a status that was granted to Acton Vale in 1890.
The maple branches represent belonging to Canada. Here they belonged to the silver maple, which is abundant in the region.
The canton motto is a Latin transposition of Acton Vale. It invites the town's population to assume its growth in all domains through dynamism and perseverance.
Ivan Sache, 3 March 2022