ONTARIO

FIRST ISSUE 1903-05 - LEATHER PLATES

Ontario passed Canada's first motor vehicle registration law, 3 Edward VII Chapter 27, effective September 1, 1903.  This law required owners to register with the Provincial Secretary, pay a $2 fee (or $1 for annual renewals thereof), and display an owner-provided rear plate with 3-inch-tall numbers, as well as 2-inch-tall headlight numbers.  However, instead of leaving plates up to owners, the province decided to issue the nation's first license plates when registration began on August 28, 1903, only about five weeks after the first United States plates debuted in Massachusetts.  These undated shield-shaped 5 1/2" x 8" leather plates, with an oval metal seal attached bearing the inscription "LICENSED BY THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO", were issued for an additional mandatory $1 fee.  Dealers were issued a similar plate for no fee, but with a single letter in lieu of numbers, and an oval seal inscribed "EXEMPT FROM PROVINCIAL LICENSE".  Motorcycles, if they were registered at all, probably received regular passenger plates.  Non-residents were also required to register, paying a refundable $1 fee for a non-resident plate.

A news article in "The Motor World" on August 20, 1903, reports that "As a result of extensive inquiries in the United States as to the best methods of making the act operative, an order in council has been passed providing that the Provincial Secretary's Department shall supply the tag with the license.  This is done in order that the markers may be uniform and properly stamped.  The tag decided upon is a dark leather shield, six or seven inches long, with raised aluminum figures, and bearing the coat of arms..."

The first plate issue was designed by a member of the Hamilton Auto Club (a forerunner of the Ontario Motor League) and was manufactured by a Toronto harness maker who was commissioned to produce 1,000 "markers", divided into two series.  Numbers 1 to 800 were allocated for Ontario residents, with #714 having been issued on May 30, 1905, and #948 being the highest known plate.  Numbers 1001 to 1200 were reserved for non-residents, with the highest confirmed registration issued being #1135.  No four-digit leather plates are known today, so we don't know if they were any larger in size, or if the seal differed in any way from those on resident markers.  Of the Dealer series, the only surviving plate known is #B.

Registration was annual right from the beginning in 1903, and the registration year was May 1 to April 30.  Registration figures by year are shown in the following table but, unfortunately, aren't broken down between new licenses and renewals:

      1903     178            1907   1,530

      1904     535            1908   1,754

      1905     553            1909   2,452

      1906   1,176            1910   4,230

SECOND ISSUE 1905-10 - RUBBER PLATES

The passage of a new law, 5 Edward VII Chapter 28, probably had something to do with the provincial issuance of a new series of undated rectangular license plates made of two-ply fabric and rubber.  By law, the number height was now increased to 5 inches tall.  Front and rear plates were now required and the registration fee was $4, including the pair of plates, while renewals were set at $2.  According to a June 12, 1905, article in The Motor Way, the new plates would be ready for distribution by July 1, 1905, and were mandatory on all vehicles by July 15.  Dimensions of the new plates were as follows:

      1-digit (and 2-digit?) 7 3/8" x  7 1/4"

      3-digit                7 3/8" x 10"

      4-digit                7 3/8" x 11 3/4"

Since this was a general reissue for all vehicles, we presume that plate numbers started once again at #1, as #6 is verified.  Non-residents were still required to register, but there is no evidence that special number block allocations continued for them.  In 1910, at plate #8500, a white bar containing the name "ONTARIO" was added at the top center of the plate.  The highest known second-issue plate is #9800.  Starting in 1907, motorcycles were now issued plates in a separate series which was similar in design but had a rubber front and leather back held together by a metal rim.  The highest known motorcycle plate is #413.

The registration year continued to be May 1 to April 30.  The highest number issued as of April 30, 1907, was #2829, while 25 motorcycles were registered as of that date.  As of April 30, 1910, #8820 was the highest number issued, along with motorcycle plate #275.  In addition, 17 Dealers were registered with single letters, while 45 were registered using initials representing the company name, such as "R.E.O.", etc.

The 1903 and 1905 laws were repealed by a 1906 amended version, 6 Edward VII, Chapter 46.  This law likely provided for motorcycle plates.  Old permits (those issued under the 1903 and 1905 laws) were allowed to continue in force.  The 1906 law was further amended in 1908 by 8 Edward VII Chapter 53 and again in 1909 by 9 Edward VII Chapter 81, but the exact contents of each revision are unknown.

The law as it stood at the end of 1910 specified that all motor vehicle owners register with the Provincial Secretary, pay an annual fee and display a pair of province-issued plates with 5-inch-tall numbers or a single rear province-issued motorcycle plate with 3-inch-tall numbers.  Additionally, 2-inch-tall headlight numbers were required on a single lamp for motorcycles and two lamps for all other motor vehicles.  The registration year was now January 1 to December 31.  Numbers could be reissued if not renewed by April 15.  Local ordinances regarding registration were prohibited.

Annual fees were listed as follows:

      For permit and 2 markers                              $4

      Dealer/Manufacturer using 1-2 sets of markers        $10

      Dealer/Manufacturer using 3 or more sets of markers  $25

      Dealer in used vehicles only                          $5

      Manufacturer "each letter or marker"                  $1.50

      All renewals                                          $2

All first- and second-issue plates were replaced by February 28, 1911.

ANNUAL PLATE ISSUES 1911-ON - PORCELAIN AND METAL

A new law was passed in 1910 requiring annual province-issued pairs of plates (except single rear plates for motorcycles) which began in 1911.  The registration year was January 1 to December 31, with a grace period to February 28.  The 1911 plates went on sale on December 1, 1910, and were mandatory on all vehicles by February 28, 1911.  Numbers began at #1.  There were 11,339 passenger registrations in 1911.  Dealer plates continued to have 1, 2 or 3 letters in 1911 and 1912 before being replaced in 1913 by a numerical series with an "M" prefix.  The highest known 1911 plates are as follows:  Passenger #11386, Motorcycle #854, Dealer #M.T.S.