Alberta
Fortis et Liber "Strong and free"
Alberta (Province)
Entered Confederation
September 1, 1905
Named after Princess Louise, the Duchess of Argyle (1848-1939), Queen Victoria's fourth daughter, who served as Canadian Vice Regal Consort when her husband was Governor General of Canada. One of Canada's three prairie provinces, Alberta's tartan was designed by Alison Lamb and Ellen Neilsen, two ladies from the Edmonton Rehabilitation Society - a voluntary agency providing work for handicapped students learning to operate handlooms. Adopted by the Provincial Legislature in March 1961, the green represents the forests; the gold is for the wheat and sunshine; the blue is for the lakes and skies; the black for the oil and coal and the pink for wild rose - the Provincial emblem. Alison Lamb was the Society's Executive Director and Ellen Neilsen was its weaving instructor.