United Empire Loyalist
United Empire Loyalist (UEL; or simply Loyalist) is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the Governor of Quebec and Governor General of the Canadas, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North America[1] during or after the American Revolution. At that time, the demonym Canadian or Canadien was used by the descendants of New France settlers inhabiting the Province of Quebec.[2]
Abbreviation
They settled primarily in Nova Scotia and the Province of Quebec. The influx of loyalist settlers resulted in the creation of several new colonies. In 1784, New Brunswick was partitioned from the Colony of Nova Scotia after significant loyalist resettlement around the Bay of Fundy.[3][4] The influx of loyalist refugees also resulted in the Province of Quebec's division into Lower Canada (present-day Quebec), and Upper Canada (present-day Ontario) in 1791. The Crown gave them land grants of one lot. One lot consisted of 200 acres (81 ha) per person to encourage their resettlement, as the Government wanted to develop the frontier of Upper Canada. This resettlement added many English speakers to the Canadian population. It was the beginning of new waves of immigration that established a predominantly Anglo-Canadian population in the future Canada both west and east of the modern Quebec border.
Abbreviation
UELAC
27 May 1914
Charity[25]
Cultural, historical, hereditary association
George Brown House
50 Baldwin Street, Suite 202
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Patricia Groom[26]
Loyalists military coronet
Loyalists civil coronet
On 17 April 1707, Queen Anne issued a proclamation referencing the use of the Union Flag "at Sea and Land". The Union Flag began to appear on forts and as regimental colours from this point, and at the time of the American Revolution, this was the flag in use. When those loyal to the Crown left the United States for British North America, they took this flag with them, and because of this historical connection, it continues to be the official flag of the UELAC.
In Canadian heraldry, Loyalist descendants are entitled to use a Loyalist coronet in their coat of arms.[28]