Vehicle registration plates of Ontario

The Canadian province of Ontario first required its residents to register their motor vehicles in 1903. Registrants provided their own licence plates for display until 1911, when the province began to issue plates. Plates are currently issued by the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO).
The location of plates and renewal stickers is specified by the Highway Traffic Act and Regulation 628 under the Act.
The Crown.
The symbol of a crown representing the Crown of Canada has appeared on almost all Ontario licence plates since 1937, when it was first used to commemorate the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Exceptions include the 1951 plates, and farm series plates issued in the 1980s and 1990s. Toronto politician and Orange Order leader Leslie Saunders led protests against a proposal to remove the crown in 1948, a decision the government overturned.
Passenger baseplates.
1911 to 1972.
In 1956, Canada, the United States, and Mexico came to an agreement with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, the Automobile Manufacturers Association and the National Safety Council that standardized the size for licence plates for vehicles (except those for motorcycles) at in height by in width, with standardized mounting holes. The 1954 (dated 1955) issue was the first Ontario licence plate that complied with these standards.
1973 to present.
After 1973 Ontario ceased to issue plates annually. Instead, validation was indicated by means of stickers affixed to the plates. All Ontario licence plates issued since 1973 remain valid for display, provided they have been continuously registered.
In April 2019, the Government of Ontario announced that the plates would be redesigned. The plates' design includes a surficial laminate layer manufactured by 3M. The plates have a two-tone blue background with white letters and numbers flanking a stylized white trillium, below which is the motto "A Place to Grow", taking inspiration from Ontario's unofficial anthem "A Place to Stand, a Place to Grow. Issue of the new plates began on 1 February 2020. This design was scrapped on May 6, 2020.
Historic vehicles.
Vehicles more than 30 years old and substantially unchanged since manufacture may qualify for a "Historic" registration.
Annual fees are much lower ($18 vs $120 for a passenger car in 2019), but historic vehicles may not be used as conventional transportation. They legally may only be driven to and from events and parades where the vehicle is on display, to garages for maintenance, and other similar use cases. Annual renewal stickers are affixed to the rear plate, as with passenger vehicles.
Historic plates are not to be confused with year-of-manufacture plates.
Commercial plates 1980 to present.
Unlike passenger cars, plate validation stickers for commercial vehicles are placed on the front plate, instead of the rear. This placement is consistent between trucks with visible rear plates, and tractor units where the rear plate is obscured by a trailer. Ontario vehicles registered in the International Registration Plan receive special commercial plates with "PRP" screened vertically at the left.
All pickup trucks are legally considered commercial vehicles and thus require commercial plates. However, if used strictly as a passenger vehicle ("personal-use vehicle"), a truck may be exempt from some conditions imposed on commercial vehicles, indicated by a white or red "PERSONAL USE ONLY" sticker affixed in the top left corner of the front plate.
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