New Look for an Old Symbol

When Doug Ford became Premier of Ontario he promised to update the look of the province, mainly to get rid of outmoded Liberal influences. One of the most radical changes involved a new look licence plate.

This plate was developed by 3M, and rolled out as totally new and improved. Its reflective surface would make it something that the police would be able to see more clearly. But, in fact, it did the opposite. It completely obliterated the alphanumeric registration. These have now been scrapped, and the old plates have been reinstated, for now.

What I always wondered was why the two-tone blue background. It took a 30 second Ontario safety ad about COVID-19 on TV last night to finally get the penny to drop. That elbow shape is the upper corner of the trillium symbol. And the blues represent the Progressive Conservative colours. There, mystery solved.