When Alberta unveiled its new licence plate design, replacing Wild Rose Country with Strong and Free, the province likely expected applause, not a potential trademark dispute.
The phrase comes directly from O Canada and echoes Alberta's own Latin motto Fortis et Liber, meaning "Strong and Free." It feels perfectly patriotic and harmless. But as it turns out, someone already owns it.
A company based in Saint John, New Brunswick, called Strong and Free Emblem Inc., holds six Canadian trademarks for variations of "Strong and Free." These marks, registered between 2010 and 2022, cover an enormous range of goods including apparel, mugs, magnets, pet products, hockey pucks, and yes licence plates and licence plate holders.
The registrations stretch across more than a dozen classes and remain valid until 2035. On paper, this gives the company an exclusive right to use the phrase across Canada in association with the goods and services listed. If Alberta were a private company launching a product line, that could create a serious problem. But Alberta is not selling t-shirts; it is issuing licence plates, and that distinction matters.
Under the Trademarks Act, a mark is considered "used" with goods only when it appears at the time of transfer of the property in or possession of the goods, and that transfer happens in the normal course of trade. The key words are "in the normal course of trade." Alberta is not selling plates to consumers. It issues them under statutory authority as part of its regulatory function.
The Traffic Safety Act and its regulations make this perfectly clear. Every licence plate remains the property of the Crown. There is no transfer of ownership. The driver is not a customer buying a good; they are a registrant temporarily entrusted with a government identification instrument. In that respect, a licence plate is much closer to a passport, a postage stamp, or a birth certificate than a commercial product.
Canadian courts have treated postage stamps the same way. Although they are tangible objects that people can collect or admire, stamps exist to serve a government function, not to act as ordinary consumer goods. They prove payment for mail, not a brand in trade. The same logic applies to licence plates. They are created for identification and regulation, not for commercial sale, which makes them instruments of public administration rather than products in commerce.
So while Alberta's new plates may display the words "Strong and Free," the province is not using the phrase in a trademark sense. The use is symbolic rather than commercial. No one visits the registry office thinking they are purchasing a piece of branded merchandise. The plates exist to identify vehicles and enforce regulation, not to promote a product or advertise a source.
That said, trademark issues could still arise if the province or one of its agencies were to begin selling novelty or souvenir plates, apparel, or other items featuring the slogan. Once the phrase is applied to goods for sale, the use becomes commercial, and the rights of Strong and Free Emblem Inc. could come into play. But as long as the plates remain Crown property issued under the Traffic Safety Act, Alberta's use of the phrase is patriotic, not infringing.
This situation is a useful reminder for governments, businesses, and trademark practitioners alike. Even patriotic or cultural phrases can be registered and protected as trademarks, but context is everything. Government use does not necessarily equal trademark use. Before adopting a slogan, public bodies should still perform clearance searches and consider whether they plan to commercialize the phrase on merchandise or tourism materials.
For private rights holders, broad trademark portfolios can be valuable but enforcing them against a provincial government carries practical and reputational risks. For trademark lawyers, the Alberta example highlights the importance of the phrase "in the normal course of trade." Not every display of a phrase in public life amounts to trademark use.
What began as a design refresh has become a fascinating case study in how cultural symbolism and commercial exclusivity intersect. Alberta's new plates may celebrate freedom and strength, but the words themselves are already registered and protected. The good news for the province is that a licence plate is not a product; it is government property, issued by statute and returned when expired. In trademark terms, that means Alberta may drive on without a problem, so long as it stays in its lane.
Originally published October 29, 2025
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