Heralds are part of the Public Service of Canada and work full-time at the Canadian Heraldic Authority.
The heralds of arms, responsible to the Chief Herald, are each assigned a badge of office. The heralds' titles are taken from the names of significant Canadian rivers. Following the tradition of older heraldic authorities, heralds' titles are territorial designations, although it should be noted that the heralds serve the entire country and are not limited to the region of their title.
Bruce Patterson (2008- )
Saint-Laurent Herald is the Registrar of the Authority, responsible for its records, especially the Public Register of Arms, Flags and Badges of Canada.
The gridiron symbol of the martyrdom of St. Lawrence, the namesake of Eastern Canada's greatest and most historic river, is shown enflamed beneath a blue cross, the ends of which terminate in fleurs-de-lis, symbol of Royal France, New France and Quebec.
Charles Maier (1988-2001)
The Wild Rose, floral emblem of the province of Alberta, is placed over two traditional Athapascan copper knives, honouring this native linguistic group and the great river and region of Northwestern Canada, which share various spellings of this name. This title is currently not in use.
Cathy Bursey-Sabourin (1989- )
Fraser Herald is the Principal Artist of the Authority, responsible for overseeing the artwork created for the grants of arms.
The badge combines symbolism of the sun and water, indicating that the Fraser River is the most important river in British Columbia, which features a sun on its provincial arms. Traditionally, water is depicted in heraldry by white and blue wavy stripes, and the substitution here of gold for white makes a reference to the gold deposits in the Fraser River, which led to the Cariboo gold rush. At the centre of the badge is a cinquefoil, a stylized heraldic flower of five petals. As this is a feature of coats of arms within the Scottish Clan Fraser, it pays tribute to the river's namesake, the explorer Simon Fraser.
Forrest Pass (2009- )
Saguenay Herald is the Assistant Registrar of the Authority, and, as such, assists Saint-Laurent Herald. Together they also have specific responsibilities for the bilingual texts of the grant and registration documents.
The badge represents, in a stylized form, a blueberry, with its heart composed of four small crowns. Blueberries are a famous feature of the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region, the inhabitants of which are affectionately known as "Bleuets." The four crowns in cross make reference to the "Kingdom" myth of the Saguenay region from the time of Jacques Cartier and Roberval.
Darrel Kennedy (2002- )
The design is based on the meaning of the word "Assiniboine," an Ojibway term describing the practice of boiling food by dropping heated rocks into water. The black circle represents the rim of a pot, looking from the top down. The red illustrates the heat from the rocks in the pot.
Manon Labelle (2009- )
The Mi’kmaq star refers to the name Miramichi, which means “Land of the Mi’kmaq”, and honours the first inhabitants of New Brunswick. The white (north), yellow (east), red (south) and black (west) signify the four sacred directions and human races. The double lines around the star produce the adapted design for use by Miramichi Herald and also recall the porcupine quill decoration used by the Mi’kmaq Nation.
Catherine Fitzpatrick (2003- )
Coppermine Herald is the Assistant Artist of the Canadian Heraldic Authority.
The ulu is a traditional Inuit knife that has existed for over 4000 years. It honours the northern people and land. Its copper colour refers to the title Coppermine Herald.