The St. Andrew’s Society of Montreal unveiled a symbolic tartan at city hall on Monday to celebrate Montreal’s 375th anniversary.
The Montreal 1642 Tartan was presented to Mayor Denis Coderre by Brian MacKenzie, president of the St. Andrew’s Society. MacKenzie said the tartan was created to reflect both the city’s founding cultural groups and its modern diversity.
“The idea was to try to relate colours to the different organizations and different peoples that are representative (of Montreal) and, of course, the environment, and then blend them all together some way to represent the city,” MacKenzie said.
Coderre was also presented with a Montreal 1642 blazer, which matched a tartan tie he wore to an afternoon council meeting.
“It means everything,” Coderre said of the civic tartan.”The tartan is an amazing symbol of inclusiveness . . . and diversity.
“The fact you see all the communities who are ready to be part of something bigger. That’s what has happened since 1835 with the birth of the St. Andrew’s Society. It’s kind of funny because we’re standing right in front of a bust of James McGill here at city hall. You see, the second mayor of Montreal was of Scottish origin, so when I’m talking about the flag and the founders, it means everything.”
Coderre laughed when it was suggested he’d fit right in on Coach’s Corner on TV with a snappy tartan blazer.
“Don Cherry couldn’t wear that,” the mayor quipped.
The St. Andrew’s Society also described the meaning of the tartan’s rich colour scheme.
“The blue and white, red and green represent the founding peoples of Montreal. The Scots by white and blue of St. Andrew, our Irish brethren by the green of St.Patrick, the English by the red of St. George and the French by the blue of St. Jean, and the white of the Fleur de Lys. Blue is shared between Scots and French, and recalls the long-held Auld Alliance between Scotland and France.
“The interlocking shades of the tartan express the peaceful integration of these original founding peoples with those of many other nations and cultures that have arrived here from around the globe.
“The green is of the forests of Mount Royal and underscore our reawakened respect for the environment and for the First Nations peoples who have loved this land since time immemorial and whose values have helped to shape us.”
The ceremony began with the sound of bagpipes and concluded with some fine Scotch.