In keeping with its principles of bank note design, the Bank of Canada sought input from more Canadians than ever during its comprehensive consultation process to select an iconic Canadian woman to be featured on a regularly-circulating bank note.
The open call for public nominations yielded more than 26,300 submissions and resulted in 461 qualifying nominees.
The consultation process that led to Viola Desmond’s selection and the bank note design process that followed included both representative surveys and focus group testing.
This brief overview summarizes the key highlights of these consultation results, and provides links to the full reports prepared by the external market research firm who undertook these consultations on behalf of the Bank.
Note: Although the executive summaries are available in both English and French, the full reports are available only in English. Full French reports can be prepared upon request. Please for more information.
Portrait subject consultation and selection
2016 Prime Ministers Survey
The Bank gauged public opinion on the practice of featuring the portraits of former prime ministers on bank notes, consistent with its commitment to consult with Canadians in order to determine their appetite for changes in established bank note design conventions.
A formal survey of 2,011 Canadians showed that the majority of respondents (82 per cent) agree that other great Canadians, potentially from fields other than politics, should be featured on future bank notes.
Read the executive summary prepared by ACNielsen Company of Canada.
Read the 2016 Prime Ministers Survey prepared by ACNielsen Company of Canada.
Long list survey
From the 461 qualifying women submitted by Canadians, an independent Advisory Council determined a long list of 12 nominees. A formal public opinion survey then gauged the views of a representative sample of Canadians regarding the long list. A total of 2,023 responses were gathered. The vast majority of respondents (87 per cent) had no objections to any of the 12 women.
Read the executive summary prepared by ACNielsen Company of Canada.
Read the National Bank Note Public Consultation Online Survey Report prepared by ACNielsen Company of Canada.
Short list focus groups
Following a thorough review of the long-list and advice from historical experts, the Advisory Council established a draft short list of five iconic Canadian women.
Focus groups were than carried out to assess Canadians’ views of the five women and their accomplishments. Because of the qualitative nature of focus groups, findings cannot be interpreted as representing the broader population. That said, among the 89 participants, there were no major objections to the short-listed nominees, and no single nominee consistently stood out.
Read the main focus group findings prepared by ACNielsen Company of Canada.
Read the 2016 Bank Note Public Consultation Focus Group Report prepared by ACNielsen Company of Canada.
Bank note design process
Design concept focus groups
Focus group testing of the preliminary bank note design took place in April 2017. These focus groups aimed to gather feedback during the concept phase of the note’s development to optimize the design and inform communications approaches. Reaction to the design was generally positive, and the change in orientation was welcomed and seen as innovative. There was also general agreement that the bank note is recognizable as Canadian.
Read the executive summary prepared by ACNielsen Company of Canada.
Read the full report Design Concept Focus Groups (Qualitative) Research Report prepared by ACNielsen Company of Canada.
Communications messaging focus groups
Focus group testing of proposed communications messages took place in November 2017. Response to the messaging was generally positive. Participants felt the information on visual elements, security feature descriptions and future note issuance was clear, concise and easily understood.
Read the executive summary prepared by ACNielsen Company of Canada.
Read the full report Communications Messaging Focus Groups (Qualitative) Research Report prepared by ACNielsen Company of Canada.
Final check focus groups
Final check focus groups were carried out in January 2018. These final checks aim to identify any unintentional errors before a new bank note goes in to production. No major errors were detected. The details that were most often linked to unintended errors related to the effects of show-through from the front to the back of the note and vice versa. Some additional communications messages were also tested. These were felt to be generally clear and fit with what was observed on the note.
Read the executive summary prepared by ACNielsen Company of Canada.
Read the full report Final Check Focus Groups (Qualitative) Research Report prepared by ACNielsen Company of Canada.
Awareness survey
The Bank conducted two waves of a nationally-representative online survey to measure awareness and impressions of the bank note among Canadians.
The first wave was conducted with 2,002 participants after the bank note was unveiled in March 2018. The second wave was conducted with 2,000 participants in February 2019 after the note had started circulating.
By the second wave, 79% of Canadians surveyed were aware of the bank note. Overall, the note’s design resonated well with participants, and the vast majority indicated they would feel confident using the note in a cash transaction.
Read the executive summary prepared by ACNielsen Company of Canada.
Read the full Viola Desmond Bank Note Survey Report prepared by ACNielsen Company of Canada.