ontario licence plate q-tip

Ontario's new licence plate draws comparisons to Q-tip box

Did the new blue-on-blue licence plates unveiled during last week's Ontario budget announcement strike you as... familiar?

You're not alone. 

Yesterday, someone on Reddit by the username u/ontarioeh posted a side-by-side comparison photo of the PC government's newly-designed plates with a box of Q-tip brand cotton swabs and, I must say, the resemblance is uncanny:

I'll just leave this here

"I'll just leave this here," reads the post, which was submitted to Reddit's r/Ontario sub on Tuesday and has since racked up tens of thousands of views.

"THANK YOU!" replied one user. "My brain was so frustrated trying to figure out what the new plates looked like."

"They should sue Doug Ford and his party," wrote someone else of the Unilever-owned hygiene brand. "I mean.. Everyone else is already."

Lest anyone think this observation is a fluke, several others online made the exact same comparison following Thursday's budget release. The new flat plate really does look like a Q-tip box.

A media release from the provincial government on Monday stated that all licence plates issued in the province after February of 2020 would bear the new design.

Those who are eager to switch their existing plates over can also pay to do so at this time.

Along with the modified blue design will be a new trillium logo and slogan. Ontario has been "Yours to Discover" since the 1980s, but soon, our default plates will read "A Place to Grow."

Better than "do not insert swab into ear canal," I suppose.

Lead photo by

Walmart Canada


Latest Videos



Latest Videos


Join the conversation Load comments

Latest in City

Here's why a huge 300-ton Toronto crane is actually a protected heritage structure

Toronto's forthcoming artificial island just got a new name

Toronto's biggest free Halloween party was a beautiful disaster

Canadians could soon cash in on $8.5 million TD mutual funds settlement

Ladybugs that bite and spray stinky fluid are taking over Ontario homes right now

Toronto reacts in shock as Doug Ford moves to cut bike lanes from downtown streets

Canada's dollar drops to lowest level in years and here's how it'll affect you

Canadian businesses could soon cash in big thanks to $2.5 billion in carbon rebates