Vehicle registration plates of Nunavut
The Canadian territory of Nunavut was formed in April 1999, by the splitting of the Northwest Territories.
At the time of division, the governments of both territories agreed to Nunavut continuing to use the NWT's polar bear-shaped license plates, which had been in use since 1970. Although the design of the plates was shared, the government of the NWT held the copyright. Nunavut's version of the plate differed from the NWT's in the name of the jurisdiction at the bottom and the addition of an "N" suffix after the numbers.
In 2010, the government of the NWT decided to update its version of the polar bear-shaped plate. In turn, the government of Nunavut opted to go with a new plate design.[1] On 3 August 2011, Nunavut announced that a contest would be held to create the new plates.[2]
The contest was entered by 123 people, who between them submitted 200 designs. On 6 March 2012, Iqaluit resident Ron Froese was named the winner. His design consisted of a night scene featuring a polar bear, an inuksuk, three sets of northern lights to represent the three regions of Nunavut (Kitikmeot, Kivalliq and Qikiqtaaluk), and 25 stars to represent the communities of the territory. This design was first made available to motorists in July 2012.[3][4][5]
Passenger baseplates 1999 to present
| Image | First issued | Design | Slogan | Serial format | Serials issued | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
April 1999 | Embossed blue numbers on polar bear-shaped white plate with border line; "NUNAVUT" embossed in blue block letters centered below numbers | "EXPLORE CANADA'S ARCTIC" embossed in blue block letters above numbers | 12345N | 10000N to approximately 22500N | |
 |
July 2012 | Screened black numbers on rectangular plate with night scene featuring polar bear, inuksuk, three sets of northern lights and 25 stars; "Nunavut" screened in black serifed letters and in black Inuktitut syllabics (ᓄᓇᕗᑦ) centred at bottom | none | 123 456 | 000 001 to 010 000 (as of April 1, 2017) |
Examples of Nunavut plates
Current trailer plate (T-prefix). Note that trailers are considered motor vehicles and registration is validated annually.[6]
References
- ↑ "Nunavut could lose polar bear-shaped licence plates". CTV News. August 4, 2011. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
- ↑ Nunavummiut are encouraged to tap into their creativity and enter a contest to design the territory’s new licence plate.
- ↑ Nunavut has a new Licence Plate
- ↑ "Nunavut unveils new licence plate". CBC News. March 7, 2012. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
- ↑ "GN launches new licence plate". Nunatsiaq Online. March 6, 2012. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
- ↑ "Motor Vehicles Act, Consolidated, R.S.N.W.T. 1988,c.M-16" (PDF). Government of Nunavut. TERRITORIAL PRINTER FOR NUNAVUT. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
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