Meet the short list of eight bank NOTE-able Canadians whose portraits could appear on the next $5 note. More than 600 of your nominees met the qualifying criteria for selection and deliberation by an independent Advisory Council.
Learn about the selection process, including the Advisory Council deliberations — and find out what’s next.
Short list
Shortlisted
Pitseolak Ashoona
[c. 1904-1908]–1983
Pitseolak Ashoona, born in the first decade of the twentieth century, was a self-taught artist whose drawings and prints have been internationally exhibited and which are held by museums and galleries throughout Canada. Her work, which reflects her own lived experiences following a traditional Inuit semi-nomadic lifestyle, provides a lively and vivid record of the ‘old ways’ once followed by the Inuit of the Eastern Arctic.
Photo: Tessa Macintosh Photography
Learn more: Canadian Encyclopedia
Shortlisted
Robertine Barry (“Françoise”)
1863–1910
Robertine Barry (also known by her literary pseudonym, Françoise) was the first female French-Canadian journalist, and a relentless advocate for many social justice causes, especially women’s equality in society. Both in her written works and public speeches, Barry was a staunch activist who championed the causes of women’s suffrage; women’s access to a university education; shelters for the poor and for female victims of domestic violence; the regulation of child labour; and the establishment of a secular Quebec ministry of public education.
Photo: Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, Canadian Women Authors Collection
Learn more: Canadian Encyclopedia
Shortlisted
Binaaswi (Francis Pegahmagabow)
1888–1952
Binaaswi (Francis Pegahmagabow), a veteran of the First World War, was the most highly-decorated Indigenous soldier in Canadian history. Following that conflict, he assumed leadership positions with the Wasauksing First Nation (Parry Island, Ontario) and later participated in regional and national advocacy movements to promote Indigenous rights in Canada.
Photo: Francis Pegahmagabow, Ojibwé. Marius Barbeau, 1945. Canadian Museum of History, 95293
Learn more: Canadian Encyclopedia
Shortlisted
Won Alexander Cumyow
1861–1955
Won Alexander Cumyow was the first known Chinese-Canadian born in Canada. Fluent in both Cantonese and English, he used his language skills to bridge the divide between Vancouver’s English-speaking and Chinese communities. Working as a police interpreter, and actively involved in key Chinese community organizations, he was a voice for a disenfranchised people, and a positive influence in helping transform racialized attitudes toward Chinese people in Canada.
Photo: City of Vancouver Archives, AM1523-S6-F54-: 2008-010.2278, Paul Yee.
Learn more: Canadian Encyclopedia
Shortlisted
Terry Fox
1958–1981
After losing part of his right leg (15 cm above the knee) due to cancer, Terry Fox campaigned to raise national awareness and funding for cancer research by running his Marathon of Hope, a cross-Canada 42-km daily run, on his prosthetic leg. By February 1981, $24.7 million had been raised—or $1 for every Canadian. His run was interrupted after he had covered 5,373 kilometres. The cancer had returned, reaching his lungs, and ultimately took his life. Today, annual Terry Fox Runs are held all over the world to raise money for cancer research. In 2020, the Marathon of Hope commemorated its 40th anniversary.
Photo: The Terry Fox Foundation
Learn more: Canadian Encyclopedia
Shortlisted
Lotta Hitschmanova
1909–1990
Lotta Hitschmanova was one of Canada’s earliest grassroots humanitarians. She came to Canada in 1942 as a Czech-born refugee and founded the Unitarian Service Committee of Canada in 1945. Recognizable from her Canadian television appeals for support, she devoted her life to helping people in need around the world, especially children, and inspired others to give generously to relief and development projects in Europe, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, South Vietnam, Palestine, India, Nepal, Indonesia and Africa.
Photo: SeedChange
Learn more: SeedChange (formerly USC Canada)
Shortlisted
Isapo-muxika (Crowfoot)
c. 1830–1890
Isapo-muxika or Sahpo Muxika (Crowfoot), a leader of the Blackfoot Confederacy, was known for his judicious use of diplomacy and for being an advocate for peace between Indigenous nations and with settlers. He was instrumental in the Treaty 7 negotiations, and in preventing the Blackfoot Confederacy from participating in the North-West Resistance of 1885. Later in life, he also fostered peace with neighbouring Indigenous peoples.
Photo: “Chief Crowfoot, Blackfoot”, 1885, [ND-8-390] by Alexander Ross. Courtesy of Glenbow Archives, University of Calgary. Modifications to the image include cropping.
Learn more: Canadian Encyclopedia
Shortlisted
Onondeyoh (Frederick Ogilvie Loft)
1861–1934
Onondeyoh (Frederick Ogilvie Loft), a Mohawk chief, First World War veteran, and political and social activist, founded the first pan-Canadian Indigenous organization in December 1918, to advocate for both the protection and expansion of Indigenous rights. In doing so, he helped lay the groundwork for contemporary regional and national Indigenous rights organizations in Canada.
Photo: Canada. Dept. of National Defence/Library and Archives Canada/PA-007439
Learn more: Canadian Encyclopedia
Qualifying nominees
Nominees were required to meet these basic criteria:
- They are a Canadian by birth or naturalization who has demonstrated outstanding leadership, achievement, or distinction in any field, benefiting the people of Canada, or in the service of Canada.
- They have been deceased for at least 25 years (before March 11, 1995).
- They are not a fictional character.
A - C
- Monroe Abbey
- Anderson Abbott
- John Abbott
- Maude Abbott
- William "Bible Bill" Aberhart
- Ken Adachi
- Mary Electa Adams
- Edward Ahenakew
- Max Aitken (Baron Beaverbrook)
- Emma Albani
- Susan Louisa Moir Allison
- Anahareo (Gertrude Philomen Bernard)
- Sybil Andrews
- Marie-Josèph Angélique
- Maria Louisa Angwin
- François Noël Annance
- Anna Mae Pictou Aquash
- Adams George Archibald
- Edith Jessie Archibald
- Elizabeth Arden (Florence Nightingale Graham)
- James Arthurs
- Karoo Ashevak
- Pitseolak Ashoona
- Philippe-Joseph Aubert de Gaspé
- Elizabeth Bagshaw
- Archibald Bailey
- Peter (Bedouin Ferran) Baker
- Robert Baker
- Frederick Walker Baldwin
- Robert Baldwin
- Murray Balfour
- Annie McDermot Bannatyne
- Frederick Banting
- C. Marius Barbeau
- William "Bashin' Bill" Barilko
- William George Barker
- Robertine (Françoise) Barry
- Robert Bartlett
- Helen Irene Battle
- Agnes Sime Baxter
- Todd E. Baylis
- Ian Willoughby Bazalgette
- Jackson Beardy
- Honoré Beaugrand
- Adam Beck
- Abigail Becker
- Matthew Baillie Begbie
- Archibald Belaney, Grey Owl
- Napoléon-Antoine Belcourt
- Alexander Graham Bell
- Frederic Marlett Bell-Smith
- Helen Belyea
- Myra Bennett
- Max Bernays
- Joseph-Elzéar Bernier
- André Bessette
- Charles Herbert Best
- Henry Norman Bethune
- George Beurling
- William Beynon
- Henry Bibb
- Mary Bibb
- Michael A. Bigg
- Binaaswi (Francis Pegahmagabow)
- Billy Bishop
- Martha Black
- Marie Anne Blondin
- Hans Blumenfeld
- William-Edmond Blumhart
- Fedir Bohatyrchuk
- Mary Rose-Anne Bolduc (La Bolduc)
- Joseph-Armand Bombardier
- Robert Borden
- Paul-Émile Borduas
- Pierre Boucher
- Gerry Boulet
- Henri Bourassa
- Marguerite Bourgeoys
- Mackenzie Bowell
- Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea)
- Lenny Breau
- Jean Brilliant
- Harriet Brooks
- Joseph Brossard (Beausoleil)
- Arthur Roy Brown
- Cassie Brown
- Anne Nelson Brown
- Elisabeth Bruyère
- Peter Henderson Bryce
- Douglas Brymner
- William Lysle Buchanan
- Richard Maurice Bucke
- Arthur (Joseph-Marie-Arthur) Buies
- Hugh Burnett
- Patrick Burns
- Raymond Burr
- Herbert James Cain
- Hugh Cairns
- Rene Caisse
- Clarence Campbell
- Charles Camsell
- John Candy
- Réal Caouette
- Joe Capilano
- Emily Carr
- Frederick Carter
- George-Étienne Cartier
- Joseph Casavant
- Thérèse Casgrain
- Elizabeth Cass
- Floyd Sherman Chalmers
- John Herbert Chapman
- Hector Charland
- Donalda Charron
- Benjamin Chee Chee
- Éva Circé-Côté
- King Clancy
- Leo Clarke
- Moses Coady
- Harry Colebourn
- Vincent Coleman
- James (Bert) Collip
- Raymond Collishaw
- Lionel Conacher
- Harold Joseph Connolly
- William Connolly
- Jane Constance Cook (Ga'axstal'as)
- George Copway (Kahgegagahbowh)
- Otty Corbett
- Ernest Cormier
- Aubrey Cosens
- Guillaume Couture
- James Henry Coyne
- Margaret Tryphene Francis Crang
- James Creighton
- Mary Helen Creighton
- Octave Crémazie
- Harry Crerar
- Jeanne Crevier
- John Croak
- David Crowchild
- Ernest Alexander Cruikshank
- Norris Roy "Buck" Crump
- Won Alexander Cumyow
- Arthur William Currie
- David Vivian Currie
- Luce Cuvillier
- Louis Cyr
D - J
- Pedro da Silva
- Thomas D'Arcy Mcgee
- Victor Davis
- George Mercer Dawson
- Samuel de Champlain
- Paul de Chomedey
- Amor de Cosmos (William Alexander Smith)
- Charles Aubert de la Chesnaye
- François de Laval
- Marie de l'Incarnation
- Hector de Saint-Denys Garneau
- Agathe de Saint-Père
- Madeleine de Verchères
- Alex Decoteau
- Dekanawida (The Great Peacemaker)
- Victor Delamarre
- Demasduit (Mary March)
- Carrie Derick
- Médard des Groseilliers
- Adam Dollard des Ormeaux
- Alphonse Desjardins
- Dorimène Roy Desjardins
- Deskaheh (Levi General)
- Béatrice Desloges
- Viola Desmond
- Hélène Desportes
- Nathaniel Dett
- Colleen Dewhurst
- Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville
- John Diefenbaker
- George Dixon
- James Douglas
- Tommy Douglas
- Marie Dressler
- Denis Drouin
- Grace Julia Drummond
- Gaëtan Dugas
- Gabriel Dumont
- William "Tiger" Dunlop
- Alexander Roberts Dunn
- Maurice Duplessis
- Pierre Dupuy
- Bill Durnan
- Marie-Marguerite d'Youville
- Cyrus Eaton
- Timothy Eaton
- Charles Edenshaw
- Marcellus Gilmore Edson
- Harold Leslie Edwards
- Henrietta Muir Edwards
- Henry Emmerson
- Arthur Herbert Evans
- Mathew Evans
- Georges Farah-Lajoie
- Leone Norwood Farrell
- Charles Fenerty
- Douglas Ferguson
- Reginald Fessenden
- Peter Fidler
- David Fife
- Alexander Fleming
- Sandford Fleming
- Jean Folster
- John Weir Foote
- Marc-Aurèle Fortin
- Charles Foulkes
- Stanley Fox
- Terry Fox
- Dorothy Maquabeak Francis
- Wilbur R. Franks
- Armand Frappier
- Simon Fraser
- Mabel Penery French
- Madeleine Fritz
- Barbara Frum
- Northrop Frye
- Aurore Gagnon
- Clarence Gagnon
- Hannah Gale
- Jean Cantius Garand
- François-Xavier Garneau
- Jean Gascon
- Laure Gaudreault
- Marshall J. Gauvin
- Marcelle Gauvreau
- George Patrick Genereux
- Chief Dan George
- Antoine Gérin-Lajoie
- Marie Gérin-Lajoie
- James Gladstone
- Adélard Godbout
- Alexina Godon-Croteau
- Emma Goldman
- Armine Nutting Gosling
- Glenn Gould
- Marion M. Graham
- Cuthbert Grant
- George Grant
- John Grant
- Lorne Greene
- Robert Hampton Grey
- Claude-Henri Grignon
- Allan Grossman
- Lionel Groulx
- Abraham Groves
- Germaine Guévremont
- Olivier Guimond
- Thomas Chandler Haliburton
- William Hall
- Hilwie Hamdon
- Ned Hanlan
- Barbara Hanley
- Lloyd Albert Hannah
- James Bernard Harkin
- Alanson Harris
- Lawren Harris
- Richard Bennett Hatfield
- Thomas Heath Haviland
- Wilson A. Head
- Donald O. Hebb
- Louis Hébert
- Josiah Henson
- Prudence Heward
- Foster Hewitt
- Hiawatha
- Ella Cora Hind
- Lotta Hitschmanova
- Frederick Hobson
- Helen Sawyer Hogg
- Thomas William Holmes
- Adelaide Hoodless
- Tim Horton
- Frank How
- John Armstrong "Army" Howard
- Clarence Decatur Howe
- Joseph Howe
- Mina Adelaine Benson Hubbard
- William Peyton Hubbard
- Punch Imlach
- Acheson Irvine
- Isapo-muxika (Crowfoot)
- A.Y. Jackson
- Albert Jackson
- Judith Jasmin
- Peter Jepson-Young
- Harry Jerome
- Louis-Amable Jetté
- Pauline Jewett
- Daniel Johnson
- Harry Gordon Johnson
- Emily Pauline Johnson (Tekahionwake)
- Louis Jolliet
- Jeremiah "Jerry" Alvin Jones
K - O
- Helen Kalvak
- Joseph Thomas Keable
- Rod Keller
- Violet King
- Frère Marie-Victorin Kirouac
- George Klein
- George Knudson
- Filip Konowal
- Konwatsi'tsiaienni (Molly Brant)
- James L. Kraft
- Cecilia Krieger
- Madeleine Isserkut Kringayak
- Curé Antoine Labelle
- Albert Lacombe
- Justine Lacoste-Beaubien
- Flores Ladue (Grace Bensel)
- Adèle Berthelot Lafontaine
- Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine
- Jean-Baptiste Lagimodière
- Marie-Anne Gaboury Lagimodière
- Judy Lamarsh
- Catherine Beaulieu Bouvier Lamoureux
- Samuel Edgar Langford
- Pierre Laporte
- Henry Larsen
- Bora Laskin
- Margaret Laurence
- André Laurendeau
- Wilfrid Laurier
- Calixa Lavallé
- Marguerite Vincent Lawinonkié (La8inonkie)
- Ray Lawson
- Hugh Le Caine
- Stephen Leacock
- Félix Leclerc
- Erland Lee
- Janet (Robertson Chisholm) Lee
- Paul-Émile Léger
- Roger Lemelin
- Jean Paul Lemieux
- Jean Lesage
- Irma LeVasseur
- René Lévesque
- Maud Lewis
- Jean L'Heureux (Nio'kskatapi)
- John Lineham
- Arthur Lipsett
- Kay Livingstone
- Woodrow Lloyd
- Tom Longboat
- Alfred Longpré
- François-Marie-Thomas Lorimier
- Samuel Lount
- John A. Macdonald
- Major Margaret Clothilde Macdonald
- Thain Wendell MacDowell
- Gwendolyn MacEwen
- Elizabeth (Elsie) MacGill
- Alexander Mackenzie
- William Lyon Mackenzie King
- Gene MacLellan
- Hugh MacLennan
- Ernest MacMillan
- Harvey Reginald (H.R.) MacMillan
- Viola R. MacMillan
- Allan Napier MacNabb
- John Archibald (Archie) MacNaughton
- Agnes Macphail
- Cluny Macpherson
- Louis Mailloux
- Marie-Anne-Marcelle Mallet
- Jeanne Mance
- George Manuel
- Josephine Marchand (Dandurand)
- Donald Marshall Sr.
- Clara Brett Martin
- Skookum Jim Mason (Keish)
- Hart Massey
- Raymond Massey
- Vincent Massey
- André Mathieu
- Peter Matthews
- Wilfrid Reid (Wop) May
- Nellie McClung
- Owen McCourt
- Elijah McCoy
- John McCrae
- John Alexander Douglas (JAD) McCurdy
- Edward Stuart McDougall
- Charles Leslie McFarlane
- Frank McGee
- Gerald Grattan McGeer
- Louise McKinney
- James Bryson Mclachlan
- Norman Mclaren
- Samuel McLaughlin
- Alan Arnett McLeod
- John McLeod
- Marshall Mcluhan
- Elizabeth McMaster
- Howard McNamara
- Andrew McNaughton
- Helen McNicoll
- Arthur Meighen
- Thomas Robertson Melville-Ness
- Membertou (Henri)
- Maud Menten
- Don Messer
- Patrick Metallic
- Rodolphe Meunier
- Roland Michener
- Mikak
- Jack "Wild Goose Jack" Miner
- Mistahimaskwa (Big Bear)
- Lucie Mitchell
- Masumi Mitsui
- John Molson
- Simonne Monet-Chartrand
- Joseph Montferrand
- Lucy Maud Montgomery
- Geraldine Moodie
- Susanna Moodie
- Samuel J. Moore
- Howie Morenz
- Baptiste Morigeau
- Sophie Morigeau
- James Wilson Morrice
- Arthur Silver Morton
- Bill Mosienko
- Claude Mouton
- Kirkina Mucko
- Phyllis Munday
- Emily Murphy
- Margaret Lally "Ma" Murray
- Margaret Smith Polson Murray
- Andrew "Andy" Mynarski
- Bronko Nagurski
- James Naismith
- Nakapankam (Mungo Martin)
- Nakasuk
- Angela Napolitano
- Ellen Neel
- Émile Nelligan
- Robert Nelson
- Margaret Newton
- Grant Notley
- William Notman
- Alden Nowlan
- Harold Anthony Oaks
- Obwandiyag (Pontiac)
- Frank Patrick O'Connor
- Susannah Oland
- Onondeyoh (Frederick Ogilvie Loft)
- Jessie Oonark
- Oronhyatekha
- John Robert Osborn
- William Osler
P - Z
- Daniel David Palmer
- Dorothea Palmer
- Louis-Joseph Papineau
- Talbot Mercer Papineau
- Manda Parent
- Alice Parizeau
- Alton C. Parker
- Lionel Dyke "Pete" Parker
- Irene Parlby
- Catharine Parr Traill
- Mona Parsons
- Johnson Paudash
- Lester B. Pearson
- Chief Peguis
- Alfred Pellan
- Mary Pellat
- Wilfrid Pelletier
- Wilder Penfield
- Thomas Peters
- Vera Peters
- Peyasiw-Awasis (Thunderchild, Kapitikow)
- Isaac Phills
- Mary Pickford
- Roger Pierlet
- Richard "Black Dick" Pierpoint
- Pitikwahanapiwiyin (Poundmaker)
- Peter Pitseolak
- Jacques Plante
- John Stanley Plaskett
- Alan Plaunt
- Georgina Pope
- Jerry Potts
- Tommy Prince
- Taamusi Qumaq
- Étienne Racine
- Carl Ray
- Red Crow
- Elsie Redford
- Edwin Michel Reyno
- Thomas Ricketts
- Louis Riel
- Léo Rivest
- Yvon Robert
- Peter Lymburner Robertson
- Harry Robinson
- Sue Rodriguez
- Harold Allin Rogers
- Lieutenant Lawrence Rogers
- Stan Rogers
- Tilly Rolston
- Charles Lightfoot Roman
- Fanny "Bobbie" Rosenfeld
- Alexander Milton Ross
- Charlotte Whitehead Ross
- Philip Dansken Ross
- Gabrielle Roy
- Ted Russell
- Thomas Alexander Russell
- Charles Smith Rutherford
- George Ryga
- Idola Saint-Jean
- Harry Saltzman
- Guy Sanche
- Henry Sandham
- Charles E. Saunders
- Jeanne Sauvé
- Terry Sawchuck
- Francis Alexander Caron Scrimger
- Willie (Hiamas or Kwaxitola) Seaweed
- Laura Secord
- Hans Selye
- Mack Sennett
- Robert W. Service
- Mary Ann Shadd
- Shanawdithit (Nancy April)
- Norma Shearer
- Shingwauk (Shingwaukonse)
- John Shiwak (Sikoak)
- Joe Shuster
- Angela Sidney
- Wong Foon Sien
- Jay Silverheels
- Guy Granville Simonds
- Jules Sioui
- Joshua Slocum
- Johnny Bob Smallboy (Apitchitchiw)
- Joey Smallwood
- Elizabeth Lawrie Smellie
- Dr. Jennie Smillie Robertson
- Elijah Edward Smith
- Conn Smythe
- J. Dewey Soper
- William Southam
- Robert Spall
- David Spintlum
- Graham Spry
- Louis St. Laurent
- Frederick Arthur Stanley (Lord Stanley)
- Samuel Benfield Steele
- Ralph Garvin Steinhauer
- William Stephenson
- Elizabeth Stern
- Winnifred Stewart
- Emily Stowe
- Agathe St-Père
- Harcus Strachan
- Benjamin Sulte
- Fern Blodgett Sunde
- Robert Sutherland
- Catherine Sutton (Nahneebahwequa)
- Taqulittuq
- Émilie Tavernier-Gamelin
- Tecumseh
- Kateri Tekakwitha (Lily of the Mohawks)
- Thanadelthur
- Ronald James Thom
- Charles Thomas
- Harry Thomas
- John Sparrow David Thompson
- Roy Herbert Thomson
- Tom Thomson
- Samuel Leonard Tilley
- Shaaw (Kate Carmack) Tláa
- William Tomison
- Tookoolito (Hannah)
- John Baptiste Tootoosis
- Henry Marshall Tory
- Graham Towers
- Vivien A. Tremaine
- Paul Triquet
- Jennie Kidd Trout
- Charles Tupper
- Joseph Tyrrell
- Abraham Ulrikab
- Roméo Vachon
- William Cornelius Van Horne
- Georges Vanier
- Pauline Vanier
- Georges Vézina
- Gilles Villeneuve
- Claude Vivie
- Eileen Vollick
- Luigi von Kunits
- Waccan (Jean Baptiste)
- Almanda Walker-Marchand
- Walking Buffalo (Tatânga Mânî or George MacLean)
- John Freeman Walls
- Angus Walters
- John Ware
- Jack L. Warner
- Mary Schäffer Warren
- Johnny Wayne
- Guy Weadick
- Robert Stanley Weir
- Chanie Wenjack
- Portia White
- William Andrew White
- Charlotte Whitton
- Edith M. Whyte
- Percy Williams
- Alice Evelyn Wilson
- Cairine Wilson
- John Tuzo Wilson
- Jane Wisdom
- Henry Woodward
- William Yellowhead (Musquakie)
- Walter P. Zeller