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Know Your Mace
Made of copper and gold-plated, Ontario’s Mace was crafted in Ottawa in 1867. It is the third Mace to be used in the province’s history since the establishment of the Legislature during colonial times in 1792. The province’s first Mace was captured by American soldiers during the War of 1812 and later returned, and the second – dating from around 1845 - ended up in the federal parliament following Confederation in 1867 and was subsequently destroyed during a 1916 fire.
Sitting underneath the crown within decorative leaves, the cup of the current Mace features the insignia of King Edward VII. The original cup bore the initials V.R. for Victoria Regina and was recently rediscovered among the collection at the Royal Ontario Museum. It is now on display in the Legislative Building lobby.
In 2009, the first two diamonds mined in Ontario were mounted into the crown of the Mace. One was left in the rough to represent the mining process, and the other was polished to signify the value of the diamond industry in Ontario. The polished diamond was inscribed with the Legislative Assembly of Ontario’s motto Audi Alteram Partem – “Hear the Other Side”.
Parliamentary Protocol and Public Relations Branch, Legislative Assembly of Ontario
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