The elements in the design have been carefully chosen to recognize the heritageof the town and the many accomplishments of its citizens.  The blue wavy chevron indicates the sea, while the fish represent the fishery, the industry on which Carbonear was founded, and the prosperity deriving from that industry.  The rose and the shamrock are representative of the English and Irish races which predominate in Carbonear and reflect the pink, white and green colors of an historic Newfoundland flag.  The young woman's head represents the legendary Princess Sheila NaGeira of Down, the ship in the crest represents both the ship-building and seaborne trade that carried Carbonearans all over the Atlantic, the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. The ship flies a pennant charged with the red maple leaf of Canada, while the motto ribbon is decorated with the provincial flower of Newfoundland.  The motto As Loved Our Fathers is derived from the last verse of Sir Cavendish Boyle's Ode to Newfoundland our provincial anthem.

Additional notes re Carbonear's Coat of Arms:

Coat of Arms are grants of honour from the Canadian Crown and the Arms of Carbonear have been granted to the town as a way of celebrating its history, geography, aspirations and accomplishments.  The presentation of the Coat of Arms was made by His Honour the Honourable James L. McGrath, P.C., LL.D., Lieutenant-Governor of Newfoundland on July 8, 1990.

It is appropriate that His Honour the Honourable James L. McGrath, representative of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, in the province of Newfoundland, should present Mayor William Butt with the historic document conferring its coat of arms on the town of Carbonear.