| Serial Format: | 123 456 |
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 presence of an 'N' suffix in the serial.
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]
| Image | First issued | Design | Slogan | Serial format | Serials issued | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 1999 | Embossed blue serial on polar bear-shaped white plate with border line; "NUNAVUT" centred at bottom | "EXPLORE CANADA'S ARCTIC" at top | 12345N | 10000N to approximately 22500N | Only single plates issued. | ||
| July 2012 | Screened black serial on rectangular plate with night scene featuring polar bear, inuksuk, three sets of northern lights and 25 stars; "Nunavut" screened in black letters and in Inuktitut syllabics (ᓄᓇᕗᑦ) centred at bottom | none | 123 456 | 000 001 to 014 551 |
| Image | Type | First issued | Design | Serial format | Serials issued | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quad/Snowmobile | 1999 | Orange polarbear plate | 12345A | |||
| ATV | 2012 | As 2012 passenger base | A12 345 | A00 001 to A05 604 (As of September 12th 2022) | Replaced the Snowmobile plate. | |
| Commercial | 1999 | Embossed blue serial on polar bear-shaped white plate with border line; "NUNAVUT" centred at bottom | C1234N | |||
| 2012 | As 2012 passenger base | C12 345 | C00 001 to C05 114 (As of September 12th 2022) | |||
| Dealer | 2012 | As 2012 passenger base | D12 345 | D00 001 to D00 223 (As of September 12th 2022) | ||
| Government | 2012 | As 2012 passenger base | G12 345 | G00 001 to G02 059 (As of September 12th 2022) | ||
| Public Service | 2012 | As 2012 passenger base | P12 345 | P00 001 to P01 739 (As of September 12th 2022) | Used on taxis. | |
| Rental Vehicle | 1999 | Embossed blue serial on polar bear-shaped white plate with border line; "NUNAVUT" centred at bottom | RE123N | |||
| 2012 | As 2012 passenger base | R12 345 | R00 001 to R00 632 (As of September 12th 2022) | |||
| Motorcycle | 1999 | Embossed blue serial on polar bear-shaped white plate with border line; "NUNAVUT" centred at bottom | 12345N | |||
| 2012 | As 2012 passenger base | M12 345 | M00 001 to M00 546 (As of September 12th 2022) | |||
| Trailer | 1999 | Embossed blue serial on polar bear-shaped white plate with border line; "NUNAVUT" centred at bottom | T12345 | |||
| 2012 | As 2012 passenger base | T12 345 | T00 001 to present | Validated annually.[6] |