The evolution of a license plate

How it all began...

Automobiles began as unique curiosities put together by inventors and other tinkerers.  By the late 1800s, several steam or electric driven prototypes had been put together.  In 1897 the first gasoline powered car was introduced, in Sherbrooke, Quebec.  In 1898 John Moodie of Toronto was the first to import a car into Canada, a Winton Runabout.  It was not until the introduction of such factory produced cars, that they started to appear in noticeable numbers.  Needless to say, this was quite a surprise to the local horses.  Little by little, cars started appearing all across Canada around the turn of the century.  They were seen as a luxury or a sports toy, and to many, a nuisance.  As more and more of these "horseless carriages" appeared, laws governing their use were quickly laid down to maintain peace and order in the community.  Rules of the road were put in place, some quite absurd by today's standards, and a formal vehicle registration system began.

Without any paved roads, the car certainly didn't travel far nor fast without getting stuck.  Since they were also unproven technology, break downs were frequent, and it was up to the driver to get it going again.  There were no garages, no mechanics, no gas stations - everything we take for granted nowadays.  The purpose of early registration was two-fold:

1) To identify the vehicles on the road, particularly for law enforcement.
2) To raise revenue through taxation of these vehicles in order to develop better roads for travel.

The registration system gets underway.

Every province began a registration system at a different time, but Ontario was the first in 1903.  Some of the major cities began a registration system before the province took over.  Most provinces were formally registering vehicles by 1910, with 5,890 registrations from coast to coast.  Each motorist was assigned a unique number to display on his vehicle.  In those early days, no license plates were provided - instead motorists were required to find some means to display their number.  Most produced markers of their own, often out of leather or rubber.  In some cases they simply painted the registration numbers directly on the car.  One motorist in Alberta ingeneously used a broom handle for the number 1, and successfully won his case in court!  The registration number was considered permanent, part of the vehicle itself.

<< Add a couple of pictures here of old cars with pre-provincial registration plates >>

Annual registrations begin.

By the early teens, most provinces saw the need to enforce a yearly collection of registration fees due to the quickly growing number of motorized vehicles.  This money was needed to begin development of a suitable highway network and to set up a system to administer and enforce the vehicle laws.  Most provinces started issuing license plates out of tin or porcelain.  Porcelain was not good since the plates tended to chip very easily.  New ones had to be purchased by the motorist each year.  Most threw last years' away, but a few nailed them up in the garage or barn, in a sense becoming the first license plate collectors.  Some provinces tried using tabs to revalidate the license plates, but most found it easier to issue new license plates after each year.  Back then, especially with rough driving conditions, many license plates did not last much longer than a year.

<< Add a couple of photos of cars with evident annual plates (maybe one teens, one 20s).

Registrations kept increasing year after year after the First World War.  By the late 1920s, Ontario and Quebec each had well over 100,000 vehicles on the road.  The number of makes and models of cars was astounding with Ford leading the pack.  Then the depression hit after the stock market crash of 1929 and took with it most of the car manufacturers.  Car registration dropped slightly or remained stagnant for the years following up to WW2 as people kept only what they needed to get by.  For most, a new car was out of the question.  Still, registrations remained annual, and, if one was wise enough to keep saving last years license plates, an interesting run of plates was beginning to develop for each province.

The Second World War: Making plates last.

The Second World War was probably the most interesting time in the history of Canadian license plates.  With the war in full force, a shortage of metal eventually developed, so license plates were either validated by tabs or windshield stickers rather than replaced annually.  Some actually restamped the current year into last year's plates!  One province even began making them out of wood!  By the end of the war, the metal shortage subsided, and the provinces resumed issuing annual plates.

The post-war boom.

Car registration quickly zoomed upwards again after WW2 as veterans returned home and began raising families.  Everyone saw a need for a new car.  By 1953, Ontario alone had more than a 1,000,000 passenger cars registered on the road!  The registration figures climbed continuously for each province until the present day.  With the amount of traffic on the road nowadays one doesn't pause and wonder why!

<show a 50's car with 50s plates>

The modern era.

From the 60s to the 80s, license plates began to evolve to something more than numbers pounded in tin.  Provinces started adding slogans, colorful graphics and even allowed motorists to personalize their own plates by selecting a message of their choice.  Most plates have become reflectorized for visibility at night.  Validation stickers started to take the place of tabs and are now the norm for enforcing annual registration.  Aluminum became a preferred metal over steel due to its malleability, lighter weight and resistance to corrosion.

And other uses of license plates...

As we shall see later on, license plates have been issued for a multitude of purposes besides ordinary vehicle registration.  Many different vehicle classes have gotten their own distinctive registrations.  Certain professions such as HAM radio operators, doctors, politicians and judges have received distinctive plates.   Many special events, including Royal visits have been commemorated.  Extra cost issues representing special interest groups have been recently made available to the motorist.  Municipalities have issued small tax plates for virtually every use imaginable.