{"id":216060,"date":"2025-10-16T00:38:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T00:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/216060\/"},"modified":"2025-10-16T00:38:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T00:38:12","slug":"strong-and-free-alberta-government-changing-licence-plate-design-slogan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/216060\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Strong and free\u2019: Alberta government changing licence plate design, slogan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Alberta may no longer be known as \u201cWild Rose Country\u201d \u2014 at least on its licence plates.<\/a><\/p>\n

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The provincial government is looking to change the slogan and design of its plates, with Albertans being asked to vote<\/a> over the next three weeks on eight possible options.<\/p>\n

The new slogan, chosen by the government, is \u201cStrong and Free.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a phrase featured in Latin on Alberta\u2019s coat of arms as the provincial motto, but has also been used by the governing United Conservative Party in past campaigns<\/a> and promotional material.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also the name of the UCP\u2019s theme song released six years ago by composer Alec Harrison and songwriter Julianna Hindemith.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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Julianna Hindemith<\/a> \u00b7 UCP Theme Song \u2013 Strong and Free \u2013 Alec Harrison and Julianna Hindemith<\/a><\/p>\n

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Smith told reporters there\u2019s nothing political about the choice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no political ideology that owns Strong and Free. It\u2019s something all Albertans can get behind and celebrate,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Smith said the phrase serves as a nod to the national anthem and illustrates \u201cAlberta\u2019s position as a strong and sovereign province within a united Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n

Political scientist Duane Bratt noted it\u2019s a phrase closely linked to the party.<\/p>\n

\u201cStrong and Free is the slogan of the UCP. It\u2019s the song of the UCP. They have a large donor club called Strong and Free,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The eight options include backdrops of Alberta monuments and landscapes, as well as plate numbers in blue in addition to the currently used red.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether it\u2019s the brilliant Prairies, the majestic mountains, pump jacks, horses, cattle and cowboys, the images are more than decoration,\u201d Smith said of the designs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are a celebration of Alberta\u2019s natural beauty and our shared identity.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Smith also said Albertans didn\u2019t want to give up references to the wild rose, the provincial flower, so all eight designs feature a drawn rose in the centre.<\/p>\n

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The move comes a decade after a different attempt to redesign Alberta\u2019s licence plates, that was in the end scrapped.<\/p>\n

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In 2014, the Alberta government tried to roll out redesigned plates<\/a> \u2014 with three designs for the public to vote on \u2014 containing a new Alberta logo, a push to the government\u2019s website, new safety features, and no \u201cWild Rose Country\u201d slogan.\u00a0The proposed plates also had new safety features and new background art.<\/p>\n

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As leader of the former Wildrose Party in 2014, Smith was critical of the then-governing Progressive Conservatives\u2019 plans to ditch the \u201cWild Rose Country\u201d slogan from licence plates as part of its own redesign project. At the time, she called the move \u201cclearly political.\u201d<\/p>\n

RETWEET if you still think Alberta is Wildrose Country! #ableg<\/a> #wrp<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/AgKWlJFOos<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Team Wildrose (@TeamWildrose) July 8, 2014<\/a><\/p>\n

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That fall, then-premier Jim Prentice cancelled the previously-announced licence plate redesign<\/a>, saying it would have cost $15 million and the funds would have been better spent on schools and other priorities of Albertans.<\/p>\n

Prentice\u2019s office said $800 was spent on the survey and announcement of the new designs, while the previous premier Alison Redford\u2019s office spent $9,745 in 2013 for \u201cwork on an alternative design that was not carried forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

The government of the day said the existing design would remain with updated safety features.<\/p>\n

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Asked about her change of heart 11 years later, the premier discounted her past comments.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also joked that it was great to have advertising for the political party I represented at that time on the back of every licence plate,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt\u2019s actually sort of odd that this wasn\u2019t on the licence plate to begin with, since it\u2019s our provincial motto.\u201d<\/p>\n

Service Alberta Minister Dale Nally, speaking alongside Smith, said the winning design would be announced later this fall after the \u201ctournament-style\u201d vote got underway Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a fun event,\u201d said Nally.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately it\u2019s Albertans that will be choosing the plate, not government (and) I think that\u2019s something to celebrate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nally, in an interview, said the rollout of the new plates could cost the government $2 million, but is expecting the price tag to be between $25,000 and $50,000.<\/p>\n

\u201cRegardless of what the number is, it\u2019s absorbed from within my current budget,\u201d Nally said.<\/p>\n

Nally\u2019s overall budget for the fiscal year is a little more than $200 million.<\/p>\n

Speaking with reporters, Opposition NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi wrote off the licence plate announcement as a distraction from more pressing issues, including a provincewide teachers strike now in its second week.<\/a><\/p>\n

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Nenshi said the slogan choice is inherently political for its connections to Smith\u2019s party, as is the switch to Tory blue lettering.<\/p>\n

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He also questioned the project\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlberta\u2019s official fish is the bull trout,\u201d Nenshi said. \u201cI don\u2019t know if the bull trout is appearing on any of these licence plates.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope it is because this is fishy as hell.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith, during the news conference, defended the timing of the licence plate swap, saying her government can focus on more than one thing at a time.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery single person who drives on the road has (to have) a licence plate, and so we have to make a decision on what that licence plate looks like,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Prototypes of the new plates were adorned on cars and trucks parked just outside the front steps of the Alberta legislature.<\/p>\n

The winning design will be announced during the fall session of the legislature.<\/p>\n

The new plates, which are not mandatory, are expected to be available beginning in late 2026.<\/p>\n

Albertans can get the new plate on their vehicle registration renewal date at no additional cost.<\/p>\n

Drivers will also be able to pay a $28 fee if they want to replace their old plate before then.<\/p>\n

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Albertans are not obligated to do so though, and can also keep the previous plate if it\u2019s still in good condition.<\/p>\n

Alberta\u2019s current licence plate was designed in 1984.<\/p>\n

\u2014 With files from Karen Bartko, Global News<\/p>\n

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