1962-68 Ontario issue
BC 'National Defense' issue
Nfld Can/US 'Forces' issue
First Nation-wide issue ('68)
'CANADA' nameplate rivited on
With maple leaf stickers
Special issue APEC '97 in BC
CFB Shilo - Manitoba
As you might expect, Canada has issued license plates for their military both home and abroad. The license plates issued for domestic use are generally issued only to DND (Department of National Defense) owned vehicles whereas those issued abroad are generally issued to both military vehicles and personnel. With the recent pull-out of the Canadian Forces from Germany, the license plates issued abroad aren't as prevalent as they once were.At one point, each province was responsible for registration of the military vehicles. Many simply issued federal government plates to such vehicles, but a few did make distinctive plates. BC issued plates since the 50s beginning with 'N' which stood for National Defence. Ontario issued Forces plates, beginning in WW2, for the vehicles on the various bases, such as CFB Trenton and Petawawa. The Ontario plates are undated permanent plates in a characteristic white on brown color with a double crown.
Many bases have issued small plates as permits to allow access. These were typically affixed on the front of the car so that the guards at the gate could quickly identify cars with the proper access privileges. In addition, plates have been issued to bicycles for use on the base. Nowadays most bases use windshield stickers instead of metal plates.
In 1968, Canada took over the registration of the federally owned DND vehicles. They were given reflective DND plates. Since such vehicles occasionally travelled abroad for peace keeping missions, it was decided to rivit a tag reading "CANADA" on these plates, as shown, to make their meaning clearer. Later on, CANADA was simply embossed or screened onto the plate itself, and some have maple leaf decals instead of the embossed maple leaves. All these plates have adhesive numbers on a reflective background. Some issues are made of aluminum, whereas others are steel. All of these plates should have 5 characters with leading zeroes if necessary. Anything else is a sample, made up for collectors.
The Canadian Forces abroad plates have a greater variety of designs. License plates for our Air Force in Europe as well as our bases in Germany have been issued.
The Canadian Forces in Germany plates have undergone several design changes from when they were first introduced in 1957 (before that they used British Zone plates). The first issues were plastic and proved so fragile that they were replaced the same year by lookalike aluminum plates. They retained their white on blue design until 1970 when they were replaced by a general forces in Europe issue.
The Air Force plates are issued to Canadian AFBs in France, Germany and Italy. These first had the design of a French plate, and later (about 1963) took on a standard 6x12 design. The first digit on these plates indicates the AFB. In 1970 these plates were replaced by the red on white plates.
In 1970, the AFB and German Army base plates were amalgamated into a standard red on white CDN forces in Europe plate. The first issues had maple leaves, but in the mid 80s, the maple leaves were dropped. Quite a few types of these plates existed, with special plates being issued to Army Officers and Commanders. Green on white plates were issued for military vehicles. Some of them identified the base (within Germany) by letter prefixes. As we have closed most of our European Operations, being more involved with NATO and UN peacekeeping missions, these plates seldom appear today.
Canadian Forces - Germany
First issue plastic ('57)
Style of 1957-61 (aluminum)
Style of 1961-68
Style of 1968-70
1957-68 m/c plate
Canadian Forces - Europe
Style of 1970-mid 80s
Style of 1990s (reflective)
m/c plate 1970-85
Current motorcycle plate
Air Force in Europe
1952-62 w/ attachment
for identification in France.
1963-70