Alberta’s plan to add ‘Strong and Free’ on licence plates hits trademark speed bump

EDMONTON – Denise Dow believes all Canadians should be able to celebrate being Strong and Free.

So much so that she launched her business, Strong and Free Emblem Inc., in 2007, with the goal of leaving a nest egg for her children.

From her home overlooking the Bay of Fundy in Saint John, N.B., she works with several licensees, stocking everything from tuques and T-shirts to air fresheners and souvenir licence plates.

Products are sold online and at duty-free border stores and airports across Canada.

“Strong and Free belongs to all Canadians,” said Dow, company founder and chief executive. “It doesn’t belong to any one person, province, a political agency. It belongs to all Canadians.

“I’m just trying to provide products that allow people to shout that out.”

Dow said people have been calling and sending messages to her since last week about the Alberta government wanting to change its licence plate slogan from Wild Rose Country to Strong and Free.

The change could possibly violate the trademark she’s held since April 2022. The Canadian Trademarks Database says the trademark is set to expire in 2032.

“There were so many emails, and that in itself means that it is causing confusion in the marketplace,” she said. “One of the fundamental background statements of trademarks (is) does it cause confusion in the marketplace?”

Dow said she’s not looking to pick a fight and wants to come to an agreement with the province, with the government paying her a nominal royalty as her other licensees do.

“I don’t want to stop anybody from using Strong and Free. That’s never been my intention in trademarking,” she said. “I do want to make this a win-win for Alberta and for all Canadians.”

She added that a win for her could include part of the royalties being donated to an Alberta charity.

Despite the possible trademark speed bump, the province has no plan to pump the brakes.

Asked Tuesday about the trademark, Service Alberta Minister Dale Nally told reporters nobody can corner the market on the slogan and there’s nothing commercial about its intended use on the province’s plates.

“It’s a plate. It’s got our provincial motto on it and, not only that, our words from our national anthem,” he said.

“This is something that we can all get behind and we can all celebrate.”

In a followup email, ministry spokesman Kevin Lee said the phrase also appears in Latin on the provincial coat of arms.

“So it is fitting that it is on our licence plates,” he said.

Dow said she’s written to the government with her business pitch but has yet to hear back.

She noted her products have been popular with Albertans since her company’s launch and that support for her business has grown despite recent talk around Alberta sovereignty.

“I’m happy that Albertans acknowledge and recognize that phrase,” Dow said. “I’m hoping that it encourages people to celebrate Canada and the rights and freedoms that we enjoy.

“I’m proud to be Canadian. I wouldn’t want to be anything else.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 29, 2025.