Alberta licence plate slogan to change to ‘Strong and Free’

Alberta unveiled eight new licence plate designs on Wednesday and invited residents to vote for their favourite. CTV News Edmonton's Jeremy Thompson reports.

Alberta’s new licence plate slogan will change from “Wild Rose Country” to “Strong and Free” by late 2026, the province has announced.

Premier Danielle Smith and red tape reduction minister Dale Nally held a press conference on the change Wednesday afternoon at the Alberta legislature.

From Wednesday until Nov. 5, the province wants Albertans to partake in a tournament-style online vote that would decide on one of the eight possible designs.

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The change was chosen to reflect Alberta’s Latin motto, Fortis et Liber, which directly translates to “strong and free.”

It’s also, the province’s media release said, a nod to Canada’s national anthem and “Alberta’s position as a strong and sovereign province within a united Canada.”

Alberta’s licence plate designs have not changed since 1984, when the “Wild Rose Country” and red/white colour palette was first introduced.

One political expert said the new design may feel too partisan for Albertans who associate “Strong and Free” with Smith’s United Conservative Party slogan and theme song.

“Something distinctive about the character, the landscape, the beauty of Alberta would be inoffensive and, I think, widely accepted,” Lori Williams, a political science professor at Mount Royal University, said.

In 2014, for example, former Progressive Conservative Premier Jim Prentice moved to change licence plate designs from “Wild Rose Country” because of their potential affiliation with the Wildrose party.

That party would later merge with Progressive Conservatives to become the UCP.

“If that was unpalatable in the past, I would say it’s probably even more unpalatable now,” Williams said. “The Wild Rose Country is a phrase that’s been associated with Alberta for much longer than any other moniker might have been.”

Prentice’s licence plate change in 2014 was cancelled for financial considerations, but Nally said at Wednesday’s press conference that his office’s original budget will be absorbing the cost of the new plates.

Still, Williams wonders why the change now.

“This is a broader push to modernize and refresh those things that we put out that represent Alberta,” Nally explained.

“We’ve heard loud and clear every time someone buys an Oilers plate or a Flames plate or a ‘Support our Troops’ plate. They’re telling us that they want more choices.”

He also said there was no political ideology that “owns the corner” on “Strong and Free.”

“It’s our provincial motto. Let’s not be shy about it,” he said.

Albertans can head to the government’s website to pick their favourite plate concepts.

RELATED STORY: Alberta licence plate redesign cancelled

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Jeremy Thompson