(VA7 missing) First issue Alta HAM (VA3 missing) Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) The rare matching 1967 pair. Expo / Confederation A Patriotic HAM  - Province de Quebec (VA2 missing) Two call signs in use in NB.

In Canada, all HAM Radio operators are licensed with the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).  Their license numbers (or what they refer to as a "call-sign" or "handle") always start with V since all British Colonies were assigned call signs beginning with that letter after the War.  The 18 call sign prefixes in use at this time are assigned to the various provinces as follows:   VE1 Maritimes (NB, NS, PEI) VO2 Labrador VE2 Quebec VE0 Marine VE3 Ontario VE9 New Brunswick VE4 Manitoba VA2 Quebec VE5 Saskatchewan VA3 Ontario VE6 Alberta VA7 British Columbia VE7 BC VY1 Yukon VE8 Nwt, Yukon VY2 PEI VO1 Newfoundland VY0 Nunavut Originally Canada was assigned prefixes VE1 thru VE0 and Newfoundland, VO1 & VO2.  Newfoundland was different since it wasn't part of Canada when the call signs were being allocated world-wide, just after the 2nd World War.  Newfoundland didn't join Canada until 1949.  VO6 was also issued to Labrador, but it was retired in the 50s, before plates were issued in that part of the country.  When Canada ran out of VE allocations, it expanded using VY and VA as shown in the above table. The number 0 is really the number 10 in a call sign.  Hence, our call sign prefix for Marine operators really is VE10.  It is often written shorthand with a slash through it (Ø), but this is not done on Canadian license plates, unlike many of those in the US.  Incidentally Marine operators can live in any province and thus the VE0 call sign could theoretically appear on any provincial plate. The call sign prefix is followed by two or three letters to form the operator's call sign.  In the less populated areas such as NWT, the Yukon and Labrador, two letter calls are all that is needed, and three letter calls are available by choice.  In more populated areas, both two and three letter calls are needed.  In these cases, two letter calls are more desirable and, generally, require seniority to acquire.  The next table shows the HAM Radio call sign prefixes that have been assigned to each province, and their first year of issue on license plates.     BC VE7: 1963 VA7: 1999 NB VE1: 1958 VE9: 1995 Alta VE6: 1959 NS VE1: 1959 Sask VE5: 1960 PEI VE1: 1959 VY2: 1990 Man VE4: 1964 Nfld Lab VO1: 1962 VO2: 1965 Ont VE3: 1976 VA3: 1994 Yuk VE8: 1973 (ret. 1978) VY1: 1979 Que VE2: 1952 VA2: 1996 NWT VE8: 1962 Nun VY0: 1999 In NB, PEI and the Yukon, the original call sign prefixes are no longer being issued.  This means new HAMs will receive a call sign using the new prefix.   In NB and PEI, existing registrants could keep their original call signs.  However, in the Yukon, all HAMs received new call signs beginning with VY1 in 1979. HAM Radio license plates generally are replaced and designed in tandem with the normal passenger plates.  All of the Ontario issues are still valid because all the passenger plates issued since 1973 are still valid, even though the design has changed throughout the years.  No HAM radio license plates were issued for 1975 in Quebec, or 1973-76 in the NWT. Under this heading, mention should be made for Citizens' Band (CB) Radio operators  in Canada.  The license to operate a CB unit begins with "XM".  Some provinces have issued plates to such operators, for example PEI.  Nowadays, with the deregulation of CBs, a license is no longer required to operate such a unit.

Two call signs in use in PEI The second was never issued since the '2' is in the wrong spot. Special Issue Nfld HAM Labrador HAM (VO2) Last year for VE8 and  first year for VY1 in Yukon Missing Nunavut (VY0) CB Radio License

Special thanks to Bob Gammon for corrections on the above.