The cross in these arms symbolizes the Christian settlers who founded the town; it is raguly to show that it was "hewn from the forest". Industry and agriculture are represented by the wheat sheaves and the cogs. Ontario is represented by the gold maple leaf (and by the green and gold colour scheme). The crest contains a gold maple tree (symbolic again of Ontario and of growth), a green belt (the national capital's greenbelt) and a red roundel (from the arms of Gloucestershire, England). The motto loosely translates as "Justice shall flourish like the maple".

The city of Gloucester has now been amalgamated into the city of Ottawa