Victoria: The crown is the St. Edward's crown, commonly called the Queen's Crown, and is emblematic of Queen Elizabeth II, adopted for usage with her succession to the throne in 1953, vs. the Tudor Crown (King's Crown) used prior, under George VI's reign. The crown itself is symbolic of the reigning monarch and the allegiance sworn to her/him. The crown itself needs to be the top-most element on the badge or crest. I'm sure you know all this, as did your alumni, but I guess knowing it and his seeing it in print are two different things.
I'd grant that may not be particularly popular in Québec to wave anything crown-like about, given its symbolism as allegiance to the British monarchy. As you can see in this
eBay listing, crowns have a tendency to disappear at times from French Canadian badges.