License plate (Canada)

License plate from the province of Alberta

License plate from the province of British Columbia

License plate from the province of New Brunswick

License plates from the province of Newfoundland and Labrador

License plate from the Northwest Territories

License plate from the province of Nova Scotia

License plate number of a trailer from Nunavut

License plate from the province of Ontario

License plate from Prince Edward Island Province

License plate from the province of Québec

License plate from the province of Saskatchewan

License plate from the Yukon

Canadian military license plate

The license plates in Canada are issued by the individual provinces or territories. As a rule, they contain the name of the province or the territory at the top, and a self-chosen motto for the province at the bottom .

The remaining part is numbered separately for the province or territory. It is also possible, except in Newfoundland and Labrador license plates as a license plate to apply. All provinces offer amateur radio operators the option of registering their callsign as well as a license plate number. Furthermore, there are various special forms for commercially used vehicles, motorcycles, vintage cars, trailers, work and agricultural machinery, and recently also electric vehicles.

In the provinces and territories of Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan and Yukon, license plates are only required on the rear of the vehicle (exceptions: e.g. tractors of articulated lorries in Quebec the license plate only in front). The remaining provinces, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, and Ontario, require license plates on both sides of the vehicle.

License plates were replaced annually in Canada until the late 1970s. The year of validity was stamped on the license plate, and the color of the license plate sometimes changed from year to year. Since then, most licensing agencies have been issuing stickers showing whether and when the licensing fees have been paid. Quebec and Saskatchewan are currently the only provinces in which there is no proof of validity directly on the vehicle.

The individual provinces and territories

The ten provinces

• Alberta

Motto: Wild Rose Country

Arrangement of letters and numbers: BBB-9999 (without the use of vowels) from 2010, previously: AAA-999

• British Columbia

Motto: Beautiful British Columbia

Letters and numbers arrangement: 999 AAA since May 2001, previously: AAA 999

• Manitoba

Motto: Friendly Manitoba since February 1976, previously Sunny Manitoba 100,000 Lakes

Letters and numbers arrangement: AAA 999 since the end of 1996, previously: 999 AAA

• New Brunswick

Motto: Be ... in this place since 2009, previously: Picture Province until 1972

Letters and numbers arrangement: AAA-999 since 1986, previously 999-999

Special feature: license plates from 2005 sometimes do not have a hyphen.

• Newfoundland and Labrador

Motto: A World of Difference until October 2001

Arrangement of letters and numbers: AAA 999 since 1982, previously: 111-999

• Nova Scotia

Motto: Canada's Ocean Playground

Arrangement of letters and numbers: AAA 999 since 1979 (initially with a hyphen between the letters and the number), before: 11-99-99

• Ontario

Motto: A Place to Grow from April 2019, before that Yours to discover since 1982 , also French Tant à découvrir on request . Before that, keep it beautiful . Commercial vehicles will receive the Open for Business motto from 2019

Letters and numbers arrangement: AAAA 999 since 1997, previously 999 AAA

• Prince Edward Island

Motto: different, for example Canada's Green Province since 2007, earlier: Birthplace of Confederation or Confederation Bridge , before: Home of "Anne of Green Gables"

Letters and numbers: AA 999, since 2007 also 999 AA

• Quebec

Motto: Je me souviens since 1978, before: La belle Province

Letters and numbers arrangement: A99 AAA since 2009, 999 AAA from 1996 to 2009, AAA 999 from 1983 to 1996

• Saskatchewan

Motto: Land of Living Skies since May 1998

Arrangement of letters and numbers: 999 AAA since May 1998, previously: AAA 999

The three territories

• Northwest Territories

Motto: Spectacular since 2011, previously Explore Canada's Arctic since 1986

Letters and numbers arrangement: 399999, beginning with 300000 (since 2011), previously 99999

Special features: The license plate has the shape of a polar bear walking to the right.

• Nunavut

Motto: Explore Canada's Arctic

Letters and numbers arrangement: 999 999 (since 2014), previously 99999 N, starting with 10000 N.

Special features: Until 2013, the license plate had the shape of a polar bear walking to the right. Since 2014, the license plates have been issued in a rectangular format.

• Yukon

Motto: The Klondike since 1998, before: Home of the Klondike , before: Land of the Midnight Sun until 1991

Arrangement of letters and numbers: AAA99, also AAA 99 since late 1991, previously: AAA-9

In the provinces where vehicles only have a license plate on the rear, quite a few drivers put a fantasy plate on the front, e.g. B. A sticker of the preferred ice hockey club, a Canadian flag , a foreign or antique license plate etc.

The Canadian Department of National Defense issues its own license plates for vehicles owned by the army , on the upper edge of which CANADA can be read, framed by two red maple leaves and which contain only numbers.

See also

• License plate of the Canadian armed forces in Germany

Web links

Commons : License Plate from Canada  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

• Canadian license plates per province since 1969 (with photos)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Information about the license plates in Alberta
2. ↑ Additional information about the license plates in Alberta ( memento of the original dated December 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
3. ↑ Information about the license plates in British Columbia
4. ↑ Additional information about the license plates in British Columbia ( memento of the original from December 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
5. ↑ Information about the license plates in Manitoba
6. ↑ Additional information about the license plates in Manitoba ( Memento of the original dated December 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
7. ↑ Information about the license plates in New Brunswick
8. ↑ Additional information about the license plates in New Brunswick ( Memento of the original from December 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
9. ↑ Information about the license plates in Newfoundland and Labrador
10. ↑ Additional information about the license plates in Newfoundland and Labrador ( Memento of the original dated December 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
11. ↑ Information about the license plates in Nova Scotia
12. ↑ Additional information about the license plates in Nova Scotia ( Memento of the original from December 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
13. ↑ Here's what Ontario's new license plates will look like. In: www.driving.ca/auto-news. April 12, 2019, accessed May 1, 2019 . 
14. ↑ Information about the license plates in Ontario
15. ↑ Additional information about the license plates in Ontario ( Memento of the original dated December 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
16. ↑ Information about the license plates in Prince Edward Island
17. ↑ Additional information about the license plates in Prince Edward Island ( Memento of the original dated December 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
18. ↑ Information about the license plates in Québec
19. ↑ Additional information about the license plates in Québec ( Memento of the original dated December 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
20. ↑ Information about the license plates in Saskatchewan
21. ↑ Additional information about the license plates in Saskatchewan ( Memento of the original from December 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
22. ↑ Information about license plates in the Northwest Territories
23. ↑ Information about the license plates in Nunavut
24. ↑ Information about the license plates in the Yukon Territory