Nunavut is Canada's newest territory, having been split off from the Northwest Territories in April, 1999. Nunavut consists of the Northern and Eastern-most section of the old Northwest Territories, closest to the Arctic Circle. There are few roads in the territory, so few vehicle registrations exist (approximately 2,000 passenger plates have been issued in the first three years of the territory's existance.) The territory also is home to the majority of the polar bears in the region, which resulted in a minor "turf battle" of sorts between Nunavut and Northwest Territories over which would keep the distinctive polar bear-shaped plates after the split. The compromise can be seen as follows:
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Nunavut 2000 passenger issue. Upon its split from the Northwest Territories in 1999, Nunavut began issuing plates identical to the Northwest Territories polar bear plate, with the jurisdiction name changed at the bottom of the plate. The serial format used on regular passenger registrations is 12345N, with plates starting at number 10000N. This example is one of the first 100 plates issued in the territory, which would be more impressive if there were more than a few thousand vehicles registered there total. |
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Nunavut 2012 passenger issue. As North America's newest and least populated issuing authority, Nunavut's plates are priced, let's say, accordingly, within the collecting community. As a result, one can imagine my delight in noting a slight tweak to these plates near the end of the bear plate's run. This plate features a slightly wider die the territory name, with the rest of the plate remaining otherwise unchanged. |
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Nunavut 2014 passenger issue. In 2012 after several years of disputes related to the ownership of the polar-bear shaped plate design and the manufacturing contract for same, Nunavut relented and released a new graphic issue. This plate features a polar bear in front of the northern lights and one of the many native rock sculptures (Inukshuks) found in the territory. The territory chose an all-numeric format for passenger plates using six digits, despite the general reissue in 2012-13 only yielding about 2,000 registrations. These plates are made using 3M's digital flat plate technology, the first appearance of these flat plates anywhere in Canada. |