The Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia's License Plate

Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia's License Plate

As a Parliamentary democracy the nominal head of British Columbia is not the Premier (as leader of the largest party in the Legislature) but is, in fact, the Lieutenant Governor (LG), who fills the role of representative of Her Most Excellent Majesty, the Queen of Canada in the Province of British Columbia.

It is the Lieutenant Governor that personifies the Crown; is both the apex and the unifying link in the constitutional and political structure of the province; and, accordingly, takes precedence over everyone in British Columbia except the Sovereign!

Despite being the constitutional source of state power in British Columbia, the LG's role has evolved over time to where it is now a largely symbolic one confined to being a goodwill ambassador on behalf of the Province.

While there are undoubtedly many obligations put upon the LG to ensure not only the proper functioning of the government, but to fulfil an arduous ceremonial role on behalf of the province, it is not without its own interesting set of perquisites.

As I like to point out to some of my American friends, whereas many US states have the established tradition of awarding plate No. 1 to the Governor, in BC our LG is not even required to use a license plate (ha-ha!).

Yet, as anyone who has lived in Victoria knows, official trips by the LG are generally not an occasion for anonymity as their is usually some underlying formality to the outing (i.e. opening Parliament, shuttling dignitaries, etc ...). So, in order to distinguish the LG's car, a "die-struck plaque" of the Lieutenant Governor's Crest is attached to a blank base-plate and affixed to the official vehicle (as shown below):

This crest is manufactured by
Pressed Metal Products Ltd. of Vancouver

The Lieutenant Governor's License Plate
(click on plate for larger image)

In terms of design, the Crest represents the British Columbia shield of arms surrounded by a circlet of 10 gold stylized maple leaves representing the 10 Provinces of Canada. Above the shield is a St. Edward’s Crown, signifying the Sovereign’s representative in the Province. As will be described below, this particular design has been in use since 2008.

Of note, despite not having to obtain a license plate, the LG's car is, nevertheless, registered with ICBC and has been issued a standard passenger plate on the Flag Graphic base (HTJ-496) that is kept within the vehicle. It is assumed that this has been done for insurance and liability issues in case the vehicle was ever to be involved in an accident outside of official use.

Previous Lieutenant Governor License Plate Designs

Historically, it is unclear when it was first prescribed that the LG need not worry about attaching a license plate to their vehicle.

It is known that, until 1938, any ordinary citizen could apply for plate number one, but that after this date No. 1 was reserved for the official government car used for transporting dignitaries and the Premier (please see the page on Personalized plates for more info).

When the numbering of plates was switched over to the alpha-numeric series in 1970, AAA-001 was reserved for the LG.

Moreover, when the Flag Graphic was introduced in 1985/86, it has been rumoured that the first 100 plates went to "dignitaries", and that the practice of the LG receiving the first plate in the series was only ceased in the late 1990s during the term of Garde Gardom (1995-2001).

So, I would suggest that there is strong reason to suspect that the LG did have the first plate in the Flag series (i.e. LAA-001), and that when this plate was removed from the LG's car, its replacement was a plate comprised of a large die-struck British Columbia Coat of Arms on a black base (which is not all that dissimilar to the plate currently in use):

This emblem is manufactured by Pressed Metal Products Ltd. of Vancouver	The Lieutenant Governor's License Plate
The Lieutenant-Governor's vehicle (c. 2003) - click on photo for larger image

This particular style was used through 2008 before being replaced by the current "Crest" plate. While it is not known what prompted the switch, it is assumed to be related to a desire to bring a consistent approach to the "branding" of the LG's office.

A special thanks go to Ernie MacAulay for helping me to acquire the pictures shown above!

1987 Royal Visit - Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM)

What the heck is the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting you may be asking?

Well my friends, that was my first response too, and after some investigating it would seem that the CHOGM is a biennial summit involving the heads of government from all Commonwealth nations and generally involves an appearance from Her Most Excellent Majesty, the Queen (as head of the Commonwealth). For those history buffs out there, it might sound more familiar as the old Imperial Conferences that were held during the first half of the 20th century.

Canada has hosted two CHOGM's with the first being in Ottawa under Pierre Trudeau's Prime Ministership in 1973, and the second meeting in Vancouver under Brian Mulroney's Prime Ministership in 1987.

CLICK HERE

In recognition of Her Most Excellent Majesty, the Queen, and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh visit to British Columbia to open the 1987 CHOGM, the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles, Keith Jackman, authorised the issuance of "special number plates" (deemed to be in accordance with Section 11(3) of the Motor Vehicle Act).

These plates were only to be used on vehicles forming part of the official motorcade and that were already licensed and insured in BC. The Superintendent also required that the regular license plates; Certificate of Vehicle Registration; Certificate of Insurance and Vehicle Licence; and a copy of a letter signed by the Superintendent setting out the validity of the plates be carried in each vehicle displaying them.

According to Ernie MacAulay, twenty (20) pairs of plates were requested, numbered "ROYAL 1" to "ROYAL 20" and utilising the Ham Radio base.

Originally the Motor Vehicle Branch approved the issue with the serial numbers in the same blue as the regular passenger plates allegedly because it would be too difficult to produce them with red serial numbers. However, Astrographics Limited had already confirmed to Ernie MacAuley that they could readily produce the "ROYAL" plates with distinctive red serial numbers using the same colour seen on the Prorated plates issued in 1986 (and again in 1988). Based upon this, the MVB reversed itself and consented to the use of the red serial numbers.

Prorated plate displaying the red serial

Ham Radio base

Interestingly, while it had been intended that the Queen's vehicle would display the plate "ROYAL 1", this did not occur as Her Majesty's limousine was provided with a gold coat of arms on a red background (a design that would be seen in subsequent trips). It is suspected that, for this reason, the plate shown above ("ROYAL 1") was destroyed by cutting it in half.

At the conclusion of the summit, the Superintendent required that one plate from each pair be returned to his office for distribution to senior provincial personnel and senior personnel who worked on the Royal Visit. The remaining plates were presented to the motorcade drivers.

1994 Royal Visit - Commonwealth Games (Victoria)

With the Queen again scheduled to visit British Columbia from August 15-20, 1994, to open the Commonwealth Games being held in Victoria that year, Ernie MacAuley, Superintendent of the RCMP Security Office for the Royal Visit, queried the Motor Vehicle Branch (MVB) about the possibility of issuing special license plates for the occasion.

A request, dated May 20, 1994, noted that the "ROYAL" series was now being used on personalised plates for a limousine company, so it would now be necessary to use an alternate series. The initial suggestion was for a twenty plate set to be issued from "E II R 2" through "E II R 20" ("E II R" being the latin abbreviation for the Queen Elizabeth II).

MacAuley also recommended "that the Ham Radio blank be used again with the letter painted rid (to complement the background of the Queen's 'coat of arms' plate and to distinguish the series from the regular passenger and commercial vehicle plates). To make the plates even more distinctive, I would suggest that 'Beautiful British Columbia' be replaced with 'XV Commonwealth Games' and 'Victoria, B.C.' be placed in the areas reserved for validation stickers."

Subsequent correspondence of June 23rd provided the MVB with a copy of the badge that had been personally approved by Her Majesty for the Canadian visit (see below).

CLICK HERE	CLICK HERE
	At left is a copy of the "Visit Badge" approved by the Queen (her signature is visible at top right). The image at top is a mock-up of the plate, which, apart from the serial, is very much as the issue would appear.

MacAuley also "concluded that it would be more appropriate to use a decal of the Visit Badge rather than attempting to emboss 'E II R' onto a series of plates. Decals were used in Ontario for the Papal Visit in 1984 and for an Economic Summit with very attractive results."

A final correspondence, dated July 28th (18 days before the Visit), indicates a minor change to the plates by changing the serial to an alpha-numeric type (there would be 19 sets):

F1	(2 sets)
F2	(1 set)
F3	(2 sets)
C1	(1 set)

P1	(1 set)
P2	(1 set)
P3	(1 set)

R1	(1 set)
R2	(2 sets)
R3	(1 set)
R4	(1 set)
R5	(1 set)

S1	(1 set)
S2	(2 sets)
S3	(1 set)

Unlike 1987, following the conclusion of the Royal Visit, the MVB required that the special issue plates be returned with an allowance for one plate to be retained by the RCMP for display purposes in "E" Division Headquarters.

Over a year later, on October 30, 1995, a News Release was issued by the Ministry of Transportation an Highways advising that it was "making available for public sale 18 pairs" (I wonder which pair the RCMP elected to display at HQ?) of the Royal Visit plates.

The News Release went on to state that "public sale of the plates will give British Columbians an opportunity to take away a cherished memento from a very special moment in B.C.'s history ... It also enables us [the Ministry] to recover the cost of manufacturing them ... Collectors and the public will be able to purchase the plates through a process of sealed bids. Interested buyers submit their bid forms and sending them to the B.C. Purchasing Commission by the closing date of Jan. 30. The winners will be contacted shortly after."

When the bidding closed, the following amounts were paid for each set of plates:

R1	$255.00
F3	$155.00
C1	$106.00
F1	$106.00
F1	$106.00

P1	$106.00
S1	$106.00
S2	$102.00
F2	$82.00
P2	$82.00

F3	$55.00
P3	$55.00
R2	$55.00
R2	$55.00
R3	$55.00

R4	$55.00
R5	$55.00
S2	$55.00
S3	$55.00

The picture shown below (at right) is that of the Queen at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, BC. Note the red plate on the front of her car instead of one of the special Royal Visit plates.

2002 Royal Visit - Golden Jubilee Tour (Canada)

In 2002, the Queen undertook another visit to British Columbia. The following pictures show the license plates that were used on her vehicles in both Victoria (at left) and Vancouver (at right).

2009 Royal Visit to British Columbia - Prince Charles & Duchess of Cornwall

The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall visited Canada from November 2 - 12, 2009. This, the couple's first official visit to Canada together, involved visits to 12 cities including stops in Victoria and Vancouver.

As has occurred in the past, the trusted license plate sporting the gold coat of arms on a red background was used throughout the trip:


Prince Charles & Camilla at Christ Church Cathedral in Victoria, November 8, 2009