Kvstratus

This could be useful for those that think they didn't accumulate
24 months out of the last 36 on a US licence and face getting stuck
with a G2 when they exchange. (The MTO website is a bit too sparse
in details).

According to regulation 340/94 of the Highway Traffic Act
section 29, subsection 1:

" 29. (1) A driver of a motor vehicle, other than a motorcycle
or a motor assisted bicycle, on a highway shall be classed as a
novice driver in Class G1 or G2 unless he or she,

(a) has held a valid driver's licence, other than a Class G1, G2,
L, M, M1, M2 or R driver's licence, issued under the Act,

(b) in the case of a fully licensed driver, at any time in the
last three years, and

(c) in the case of a person classed as a probationary driver,
at any time within one year before the time of application; or

(d) is the equivalent of a fully licensed driver in Ontario, other
than in Class M, and has held for at least 24 months in the last
three years a valid driver's licence, other than a driver's licence
equivalent to a Class M1 or M2 driver's licence, issued by,

(e) another province or territory of Canada, Canada Forces Europe,
a state of the United States of America or Japan, or

(f) a jurisdiction which is a party to a valid and subsisting
agreement with Ontario respecting the reciprocal exchange of
driver's licences. O. Reg. 340/94, s. 29 (1); O. Reg. 671/98,
g. 1 (1); O. Reg. 337/00, s. 1 (1). "


So according to 1(b) you have to be currently at the G level
equivalent but the 24 months of experience required does *not*
have to be equivalent to the G level. The wording of subsection
29 (2b) is more explicit but essentially the same. A G1 equivalent
counts towards the 24 months of experience. According to subsection
29 (3)

"(3) Despite subsections (1) and (2), the period of time during
which an equivalent licence must be held under those subsections
may be reduced by the period of time that the driver held the
equivalent of a Class G1 or L driver's licence, to a maximum of
12 months, and by the period of time that the driver held the
equivalent of a Class M1 or R driver's licence, to a maximum of 60
days. O. Reg. 340/94, s. 29 (3)."

which puts the maximum contribution of the G1 equivalent at
12 months.

An implication of this is that if you fail the final G2 exit
exam or let your G2 expire and then move to the US for a
relatively short time, you are better off having at least a G1
licence when you leave. For whatever reason the Ontario government
has decided to ignore driving experience older than three years.
But it helps to be continuously licenced even if only at the G1
level since the government of Ontario doesn't distinguish between
G, G1 and G2 (or equivalent) experience.