A mock-up of Ontario's new license plates is shown in the budget revealed on April 11, 2019. Marieke Walsh/iPolitics

TORONTO — The Ontario government is inverting the colour scheme on the province’s license plates and putting Tory blue front and centre.

The colour scheme was the only part of the plate change that wasn’t leaked ahead of the $163.4 billion budget, unveiled on Thursday afternoon.

The new plates also come with a new slogan. As previously reported the province is ditching “yours to discover” and is replacing it with “a place to grow” for personal plates.

[READ MORE: Ford budget tees up another fight with Trudeau]

Commercial plates will carry Premier Doug Ford’s election slogan: “open for business.” While that measure has been confirmed by the government, it was not part of the budget plans. A government official said it would be formally announced at a later date.

In his budget speech, Finance Minister Vic Fedeli said “we want to drive a new culture throughout Ontario and this branding will signal that change.”

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said the change shows Ford is using “public money for partisan purposes.”

“It’s such an obvious Conservative branded license plate,” she said. “It’s just shameful that this is a priority of Doug Ford is to have his ego on the back of everybody’s car.”

“I think it will cause a lot of rear-ending,” Horwath quipped.

The Tories also revamped the province’s logo.

The government is ditching the so-called ‘three men in a hot tub’ look and replacing it with an outline of a trillium that is similar to the previous provincial logo.

The province’s new slogan will be “working for you.”

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