Canadian five-dollar bill

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Canadian $5, front

Canadian $5, back

Old Canadian $5, front

The Canadian five-dollar bill is one of the most common banknotes of Canadian currency. It is the lowest denomination banknote currently issued in Canada.

The current five-dollar bill is dominantly blue in colour. The front features a portrait of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the coat of arms, and a picture of the West Block of the Parliament buildings. A security feature visible from the front consists of three shiny maple leaves. The reverse side depicts children engaged in winter sports, including sledding, ice skating, and hockey; this is accompanied by a quotation from Roch Carrier's short story "The Hockey Sweater".

Yellow dots representing the EURion constellation can be found on both sides (and on all 2001 series notes). As well as textured printing, this new 2002 design incorporates a special tactile feature similar to Braille dots for the blind indicating the denomination. On 15 November 2006 the Bank of Canada released an updated version of the $5 bill with the updated security features, including a holographic stripe, found in the rest of the series.^[1]

Security features include 'BANK OF CANADA' and 'BANQUE DU CANADA' only visible under ultraviolet light. The coat of arms is also on the bill.

As with all modern Canadian banknotes, all text is in both English and French.

In 2005, the Canadian government polled its citizens on the idea of retiring the five dollar bill, replacing it with a five dollar coin. The money saved in making the coin would then fund the Canadian Olympic team. Canadians resoundedly rejected and ridiculed the idea of a five-dollar coin. Some pointed out the bill's most recent redesign had only been four years previously, while many others were averse to the idea of carrying yet another heavy coin in their wallets and pockets. Due to the overwhelmingly negative response, the plans for the five dollar coin were scrapped.