Charles Maier was born in British Columbia in 1945. He is a graduate of the University of British Columbia (BA History and Economics 1969) and the University of London, King’s College (MA Imperial and Commonwealth History 1970). He joined the British Columbia Historic Parks System as an Information & Education Officer in 1975, after having served as an executive trainee with the Hudson’s Bay Company. Mr. Maier was appointed Government Records Archivist for the Yukon Territory in 1981. In 1988 he moved to Ottawa to accept the post of Athabaska Herald on the staff of the Governor General, where he was responsible for developing policies for the newly established Canadian Heraldic Authority. His work spanned a wide range of matters related to national symbolism, including creating Canadian Forces badges for the Queen’s approval. In 2002, Mr. Maier was appointed Chief of Ceremonial and Protocol in the Department of Public Works and Government Services. He retired from the Public Service in 2006.

While still a student, Charles interrupted his studies to teach for a year in a church school in the present country of Belize, then known as British Honduras. Throughout his public service career he maintained an interest in academic teaching on a part-time basis. He served as the first history instructor at East Kootenay Community College in Cranbrook, British Columbia, and while in Whitehorse, he was appointed the first history instructor at Yukon College. Mr. Maier has also taught part-time for Algonquin College, Ottawa, and continues to teach history courses for the Royal Military College of Canada. He is the author of several scholarly and popular articles related to history and national symbolism.

Mr. Maier was commissioned to assist in his son’s Air Cadet Squadron, and has assisted in a number of capacities as a reservist. He served as the founding Commanding Officer of a francophone Army Cadet Corps established at Casselman, Ontario, and worked with Army Public Affairs on a number of visual identity projects. He joined the Heraldry Society of Canada in 1972, and received the Society’s Fellowship in 1991, while serving as Athabaska Herald at the CHA.

On a more personal note, Charles married Valerie Wright in 1974. They are the parents of four children – three boys and a girl – and live in Ottawa.

Honours and awards

• 1991 Fellow of the Royal Heraldry Society of Canada
• 1975 Grant of Arms, College of Arms, London