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In Canada, licence plate numbers are usually assigned in ascending order, beginning with a starting point such as AAA-001.

As such, someone familiar with the sequence can determine roughly when the licence plate was issued. After Ontario's transition to an ABCD-123 format in 1997, plates were issued in ascending order starting with AAAA-001. It took close to 10 years to exhaust the supply of plate numbers with A as the first digit. In late 2006, plates with B as the first digit were assigned, and have continued from there sequentially. Plates with C as the first digit are now commonplace as of 2021.

The gradual increase in the use of letters in the serials of licence plates has given rise to an increased possibility of unintentional profane or inappropriate words or messages arising from the use of sequential alphanumeric combinations. Thus, numbering sequences generally exclude certain combinations of letters or numbers that would be potentially offensive. Jurisdictions' attention to excluding offensive combinations varies widely, however. In 1986, Waldale, a Canadian licence plate manufacturer, due to a production error, produced an entire batch of New Brunswick plates that began with the letters ASS. The plates were issued, and were unofficially scrapped, but many found their way into the collectors' black market.

From 1971 to 1975, Manitoba's licence plate bore the slogan "Sunny Manitoba: 100,000 lakes," but was changed to "Friendly Manitoba," possibly due to conflict with Minnesota's "10,000 lakes" slogan.

Designs and serial formats

Province/Territory	Description	Slogan	Serial format	Image
Alberta	red on non-reflective white	"Wild Rose Country"	ABC-1234
British Columbia	blue on reflective white with screened provincial flag / yellow and white mountain scene with the 2010 Olympic symbol screened	"Beautiful British Columbia"	AB1 23C (cars) AB 1234 (trucks)
Manitoba	dark blue on white with screened graphic landscape	"Friendly Manitoba"	ABC 123
New Brunswick	red on reflective white with provincial wordmark and rainbow design	—	ABC 123
Newfoundland and Labrador	blue on reflective white with provincial wordmark	—	ABC 123
Northwest Territories	screened nature scene, shaped like a polar bear	"Spectacular Northwest Territories"	123456
Nova Scotia	blue on reflective white with screened image of the Bluenose	"Canada's Ocean Playground"	ABC 123
Nunavut	blue and white with the aurora borealis and a polar bear, includes the territory's name written in both Latin characters and Inuktitut syllabics	—	123 456
Ontario
	blue on reflective white with screened crown separator (commercial vehicles: black on reflective white)	"Yours to Discover"	ABCD-123 (Passenger) AB-12345 (Commercial)
		"Tant à Découvrir"
	green on reflective white with screened graphic of white trillium; for hydrogen and plug-in electric vehicles	"Green Vehicle"	GVAB 123
		"Véhicule écologique"	VEAB 123
Prince Edward Island	light brown on reflective white with photo of Province House on the left	"Birthplace of Confederation"	12 3AB
		"Berceau de la Confédération"
Quebec	dark blue on reflective white	"Je me souviens" (I Remember)	D12 ABC
	green on reflective white with electric vehicle pictogram on the lower left side (for electric vehicles)		Began as B12 VEA, followed by C12 VAB
Saskatchewan	green on reflective white with screened wheat graphic	"Land of Living Skies"	123 ABC
Yukon	black on white with screened miner image	"The Klondike"	ABC12
Department of National Defence - All provinces and territories	dark green on reflective white with "Canada" on top flanked by two red maple leaves	—	12345

Note: For Ontario and Quebec electric vehicle plates, letters in bold denotes that they are specifically set to identify them, apart from the regular issuance.

Plate types and serial formats no longer issued but still valid

Province/Territory	Description	Slogan	Serial format	Image
Alberta	red on reflective white	"Wild Rose Country"	ABC-123
	red on non-reflective white
British Columbia	blue on reflective white with screened provincial flag	"Beautiful British Columbia"	ABC 123 (passenger cars 1985-2001) and 123 ABC (passenger cars 2001-2014) 1234 AB (passenger trucks)
Manitoba	Embossed dark blue serial on reflective white plate with river scene featuring green trees on either side and yellow wheat at the bottom; blue bison graphic screened at top right; "Manitoba" screened in blue at top, offset to right, with red maple leaf over the 'i'	"Friendly Manitoba"	ABC 123
New Brunswick	red on reflective white with provincial wordmark	none	ABC-123
	red on reflective white with provincial wordmark and rainbow design	"Be...in this place - Être...ici on le peut'"	ABC 123
Newfoundland and Labrador	red and blue embossed on white	none	ABC-123
	red on reflective white with screened Viking ship graphic	"A World of Difference"	ABC 123
	red on reflective blue/white with screened Cabot graphic	"Celebrate 500 Years"	ABC 123
	red on reflective white with screened provincial flag graphic	none	ABC 123
Northwest Territories	none
Nova Scotia	blue on white	"Canada's Ocean Playground"	ABC 123
Nunavut	none
Ontario	blue on white with embossed crown separator	"Keep It Beautiful"	ABC 123
	blue on white with embossed crown separator	"Yours to Discover"	ABC 123
	blue on white with embossed crown separator	"Yours to Discover"	123 ABC
	blue text on reflective white with screened crown separator (license plates issued to commercial vehicles are issued plates with black text on reflective white)	"Yours to Discover"	123 ABC
	white on reflective, two-hue blue with white stylized trillium separator and white crown placed bottom right	"A Place to Grow"	ABCD 123
Prince Edward Island	green on white with embossed provincial crest	none	ABC 123
	red on reflective white with screened Anne of Green Gables graphic	"Home of Anne of Green Gables"	AB 123
	green on reflective green/white/blue background with screened Confederation Bridge graphic	"Confederation Bridge"	AB 123
	green on reflective green/white/blue background with screened Province House graphic	"Birthplace of Confederation"	AB 123
Québec	dark blue on reflective white	"Je me souviens"	123A456 (1979 series only)
			ABC 123
			123 ABC
Saskatchewan	green on reflective white with screened wheat graphic	Land Of the Living Skies”	ABC 123
Yukon	none

See also

• U.S. license plate designs and serial formats

References

1. Manitoba License Plays, 1969-Present
2. "British Columbia Passenger License Plates: 1904 to the present".
3. "Ontario gets new green licence plates". CBC. 2009-11-02. Retrieved 2009-11-07.
4. "Electric Vehicles". SAAQ. Archived from the original on 2012-07-08. Retrieved 2012-07-26.
5. "Ontario's new licence plates hit the road: Here's what you need to know". toronto.ctvnews.ca. February 3, 2020.
6. "Accueil véhicules". Ministère des Transports (in French). Le gouvernement de l'Ontario. Retrieved 12 February 2020.

External links

• Automobile License Plate Collectors' Association
• Current High-Issue License Plates (U.S. and Canada)
• License Plates of North America, 1969-Present
• The Back Bumper

• Vehicle registration plates of Canada