Antique car plates commemorate Canada’s first automobile

The province’s redesigned antique auto licence plate commemorates Canada’s first automobile, which was brought to Rustico, Prince Edward Island in 1866.

Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy Minister Paula Biggar and members of the Prince Edward Island Antique Car Club unveiled a plate marking the fact that Canada’s first automobile was owned and operated on Prince Edward Island. The new plate will be available to qualifying vehicles through the car club.

“Father Georges-Antoine Belcourt, a pioneering priest in the Rustico area, was Canada’s first car owner,” Minister Biggar said. “This licence plate – bearing an image of Father Belcourt’s car – commemorates another instance where Prince Edward Island was an innovator in what would soon become Canada.”

Antique Car Club President Rudy Croken said he appreciated the support of Minister Biggar and the province’s Highway Safety Division in approving not only an attractive new plate, but one that recognizes one of the most significant historical events in Canadian automobile history.

Media contact:

Ron Ryder
Department of Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy
rrryder@gov.pe.ca 
(902) 368-5112