Redesigned $10 Bank Note Launched - New Note Series to Feature Canada's Culture, History and Achievements
The Bank of Canada launched the first in a new series of bank notes today. The themes of the notes in the new series, entitled Canadian Journey, reflect Canadians' views of their culture, history, and achievements, said Gordon Thiessen, Governor of the Bank of Canada, as he unveiled the $10 note at the Bank.
Deputy Prime Minister Herb Gray was present at the event to announce the bank note themes and to assist with the unveiling.
The back of the redesigned $10 note features the theme of Remembrance and Peacekeeping. It represents Canada's participation in peacekeeping activities as well as the remembrance of all Canadians who participated in past wars. A picture of Sir John A. Macdonald remains on the front of the new note.
"Canada's new bank notes will display subject matter chosen with input from Canadians across the country," said Mr. Thiessen. "I am extremely proud of our newest bank note series, which is distinguished by new anti-counterfeiting features, world-class designs, and a unique durable tactile feature to assist the blind and vision-impaired. Raising public awareness of our currency is an important preventive measure against counterfeiting."
The new notes will contain many new sophisticated security features designed to thwart counterfeiters. Since the current note series was introduced in 1986, significant technological advances in bank note production have made it possible to incorporate better security features into paper currency. This comes at a time when affordable high-resolution colour copiers, inkjet printers, and computer scanners have increased the potential for counterfeiting.
A major enhancement to the new series is the addition of a durable tactile feature that will greatly improve the ability of the blind and vision-impaired to recognize different denominations.
"Currency is a national symbol and a fitting place to capture some of the many events, scenes and people that have shaped our history and our lives as Canadians," said Deputy Prime Minister Herb Gray as he announced the new bank note themes.
The images on the backs of the notes are changing but the Queen and prime ministers who are featured on the front of the current notes will remain, with new portraits. The notes will be the same size, and the existing dominant colours on each denomination will be maintained.
The new themes were chosen after consultation with thousands of Canadians who expressed their views about Canada's significant achievements and aspirations.
The new note titles and the subject matter that will appear on the backs are:
| $5 | Children at Play - children playing hockey outdoors (Sir Wilfrid Laurier on the front) |
| $10 | Remembrance and Peacekeeping - veterans, children and peacekeepers paying tribute (Sir John A. Macdonald on the front) |
| $20 | Arts and Culture - the artwork of renowned Canadian artist Bill Reid (Queen Elizabeth II on the front) |
| $50 | Nation Building - the accomplishments of the Famous Five and Thérèse Casgrain (William Lyon Mackenzie King on the front) |
| $100 | Exploring and Innovating - historic and satellite maps of Canada (Sir Robert Borden on the front) |
Children from primary schools across Canada supported the launch of the new series with their interpretations of the themes. Artwork displayed at the Bank of Canada was from Seymour Heights Elementary School, Vancouver; St. John Fine Art School, Calgary; École Côte du Nord, Hull; St. Luke Catholic School, Ottawa; École Lanaudière, Montréal; St. Patrick's-Alexandra School, Halifax; and Sir Ernest MacMillan Public School, Burlington.
The $5 note will be issued later in 2001, and the remaining new notes ($20, $50, and $100) will be introduced over the next two to three years. The current notes will remain legal tender even after the new notes are introduced.