After collecting Ontario licence plates for the last 50 years or so, Dave Steckley said he’s relieved to finally see one that deviates from the standard plate with white background and blue text.

The new plates includes a light and darker shade of blue with white text overhead. With the new slogan, “A Place to Grow,” the plates kept their crown while adding an updated version of Ontario’s classic trillium logo.

Steckley, who has a collection of about 4,500 plates, said he would give a passing grade to the plate brought in this month by Doug Ford’s government, its first major redesign since 1973.

“I like the look, however I’m well aware of the comments some folks feel it looks like a box of Q-Tips, and other folks feel it does reflect the appearance and colours of the Progressive Conservative election sign,” said Steckley, whose uncle suggested he started collecting plates that were piling up because he needed to change them every year.

“But for us guys who have been looking at blue and white plates for almost 50 years, we do think it was time to freshen up our plate.”

While the crown has remained on plate, it’s no longer in a prominent spot, much to the disappointment of another plate collector.

“Being a monarchist and a member of the United Empire of Loyalists, I definitely don’t like the crown being delegated to the corner; it should have always been amongst the characters,” said Jim Becksted, who’s collected plates since the mid-1970s and holds about 450 according to his inventory.

“But Mr. Ford has decided to promote the trillium logo so it’s now taking centre stage.”

Neither collector was particularly wowed by the plate’s new slogan, “A Place to Grow.”

“A place to grow, with the cannabis laws, people are having a good laugh. Yeah, a place to grow cannabis,” Becksted laughed.

Alex Gates, the executive director and curator at the Canadian Automotive Museum in Oshawa, said he noticed it’s the first time the Ontario licence plate has featured a plate with two separate colours under its text.

Throughout 1911 and 1973, plates alternated between white, blue, black and yellow backgrounds. White backgrounds became the norm after 1973.

Gates reserved his judgment on the new plate’s design, saying the museum prefers to remain “neutral observers of history.”

Steckley said he’s well aware of the controversy surrounding how visible the plates are at night. Characters on the plate are no longer embossed, which also makes them harder to read.

Becksted, who is also a Toronto parking enforcement officer, said he and his colleagues have been concerned about the plates ever since they hit the road.

“We are having some difficulties reading the characters on our street sweeps looking for stolen vehicles,” Becksted said. “It’s a very busy plate.”

Any recall is sure to open a “Pandora’s box” of problems, he said, because the province would have to account for every new plate issued since it made its debut this month.

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Steckley put his own collection of the plates to the test to see if the newest one is as bad as everyone has claimed.

“Not the best of the ones that I’ve looked at, but not the worst,” Steckley said, noting he’s noticed text on the plates tends to come out darker when photographed.

Both Gates and Steckley agree the new plates appear sturdier than before, less likely to peel and bubble as seen with the ones that remain on the road.

But unlike past plates, the new ones are totally flat, which leaves some concern as to how they’ll fare on the road.

“We’re questioning how well these flat plates will stand up to the wear and tear of our roads,” said Steckley, who wondered why government decided to go against embossing the plate’s text.

Feb. 19, 2020 — Update: This story has been updated from a previously published version with more comments from collectors Jim Becksted and Dave Steckley.

Miriam Lafontaine is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star's radio room in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @mirilafontaine

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