Banknotes of the Canadian dollar

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Canadian banknotes are the banknotes of Canada, denominated in Canadian dollars (CAD). In common everyday usage, they are called bills. Currently, they are issued in five, ten, twenty, fifty, and hundred dollar denominations by the Bank of Canada.

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[edit] Production

Bills are issued by the Bank of Canada, but the actual production of the bills is outsourced to the Canadian Bank Note Company and BA International Inc (formerly the British American Banknote Company Ltd), in accordance with the specifications and requirements of the Bank of Canada. All wording on bills appears in both Canada's official languages, English and French.

[edit] Counterfeiting

An internal report by the Bank of Canada states that the current level of counterfeit money in Canada is now higher than its key monitoring benchmark and is higher than benchmarks used in other countries. The report said "All denominations except the $5 continued to be above our historical threshold of 120 counterfeits detected per million genuine notes in circulation," hitting a high of 470 phoney bills for every million legitimate notes circulating in 2004.[1]

[edit] Removal of $1 and $2 bills

Some of the most significant recent developments in Canadian currency were the withdrawal of the $1 and $2 bills in 1987 and 1996, respectively, and their replacement with new coins.

[edit] Canadian Journey

Beginning in 2001, the Bank of Canada introduced a new series of bills called "Canadian Journey", featuring images of Canadian heritage and excerpts from Canadian literature. The new $10 was first issued on January 17, 2001; the new $5 on March 27, 2002; the new $100 bill on March 17, 2004, the new $20 on September 29, 2004, and the new $50 on November 17, 2004.

The $20, $50, and $100 notes introduce watermark security features for the first time on Canadian currency since the four dollar Dominion notes; they also boast significantly expanded holographic security features. Also among the new features are a windowed colour-shifting thread woven into the paper, a see-through number, and enhanced fluorescence under ultraviolet lighting. These features are reliable, quick and easy to use, and are designed to help Canadians protect themselves from accepting counterfeit notes. All 2001 through 2005 series notes also include the EURion constellation, on both sides of the bill. The new bills have a "tactile feature", which is a series of raised dots (but not in Braille) in the upper right corner on the obverse of each bill to aid the visually impaired in identifying currency denominations.

The security features new on the $20, $50, and $100 notes were added to an updated version of the $10 note released on 18 May 2005, and the Bank of Canada began issuing a $5 note with upgraded security features on 15 November 2006 as part of its ongoing effort to improve the security of Canadian bank notes. The illustrations on the front and back of the upgraded notes are the same as those on the $5 and $10 notes issued in 2001 and 2002.

The "Canadian Journey" literary excerpts are printed in English and French, with the English versions being:

  • $5: The winters of my childhood were long, long seasons. We lived in three places—the school, the church, and the skating-rink—but our real life was on the skating-rink. (Roch Carrier (b. 1937) from his short story Le chandail de hockey (The Hockey Sweater))
  • $10: In Flanders Fields the poppies blow / Between the crosses, row on row, / That mark our place, and in the sky / The larks, still bravely singing, fly / Scarce heard amid the guns below. (John McCrae (1872-1918), from his poem In Flanders Fields)
  • $20: Could we ever know each other in the slightest without the arts? (Gabrielle Roy (1909-1983) from her novel La Montagne secrète (The Hidden Mountain))
  • $50: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights (from Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948)
  • $100: Do we ever remember that somewhere above the sky in some child's dream perhaps Jacques Cartier is still sailing, always his way always about to discover a new Canada? (Miriam Waddington (1917-2004) from her poem Jacques Cartier in Toronto)


[edit] List of bank notes

Canadian banknotes - an exhaustive list

1935 Series
Image Value Main Colour Description Date of
Obverse Reverse Obverse Reverse printing issue
en    fr en    fr $1‡ Green King George V Agriculture allegory 1935 11 March 1935
en    fr en    fr $2‡ Blue Queen Mary Transportation allegory 1935 11 March 1935
en    fr en    fr $5‡ Orange Edward, Prince of Wales Electric power allegory 1935 11 March 1935
en    fr en    fr $10‡ Purple Princess Mary Harvest allegory 1935 11 March 1935
en    fr en    fr $20‡ Rose Pink Princess Elizabeth Agriculture allegory 1935 11 March 1935
en    fr en    fr $50‡ Brown Prince Albert, Duke of York Modern Inventions allegory 1935 11 March 1935
en    fr en    fr $100‡ Dark Brown Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester Commerce and industry allegory 1935 11 March 1935
Image:CAD500 English Front.png
fr		 Image:CAD500 English Back.png
fr		 $500‡ Sepia Sir John A. Macdonald Fertility allegory 1935 11 March 1935
en    fr en    fr $1000‡ Dark Green Sir Wilfrid Laurier Security allegory 1935 11 March 1935
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixels per millimetre, a standard for world banknotes. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.
1937 Series
Image Value Main Colour Description Date of
Obverse Reverse Obverse Reverse printing issue
[2] [3] $1‡ Green King George VI Agriculture allegory 2 January 1937 19 July 1937
[4] [5] $2‡ Terra cotta King George VI Harvest allegory 2 January 1937 19 July 1937
[6] [7] $5‡ Blue King George VI Electric power allegory 2 January 1937 19 July 1937
[8] [9] $10‡ Purple King George VI Transportation allegory 2 January 1937 19 July 1937
[10] [11] $20‡ Olive Green King George VI Fertility allegory 2 January 1937 19 July 1937
[12] [13] $50‡ Orange King George VI Modern Inventions allegory 2 January 1937 19 July 1937
[14] [15] $100‡ Brown Sir John A. Macdonald Commerce and industry allegory 2 January 1937 19 July 1937
[16] [17] $1000‡ Rose Pink Sir Wilfrid Laurier Security allegory 2 January 1937 19 July 1937
For table standards, see the banknote specification table.
1954 series
Image Value Main Colour Description Date of
Obverse Reverse Obverse Reverse printing issue
[18] [19] $1‡ Green Queen Elizabeth II Saskatchewan prairie 1954 9 September 1954
[20] [21] $2‡ Terra cotta Queen Elizabeth II A country scene, Richmond, Quebec 1954 9 September 1954
[22] [23] $5‡ Blue Queen Elizabeth II Otter Falls, (Aishihik River), Yukon 1954 9 September 1954
[24] [25] $10‡ Purple Queen Elizabeth II Mount Burgess, British Columbia 1954 9 September 1954
[26] [27] $20‡ Olive Green Queen Elizabeth II Winter landscape, Laurentian Mountains, Quebec 1954 9 September 1954
[28] [29] $50‡ Orange Queen Elizabeth II Lockeport Beach, Nova Scotia 1954 9 September 1954
[30] [31] $100‡ Brown Queen Elizabeth II Okanagan Lake, British Columbia 1954 9 September 1954
[32] [33] $1000‡ Rose Pink Queen Elizabeth II L'Anse-Saint-Jean, Quebec 1954 9 September 1954
For table standards, see the banknote specification table. Linked images in this table are of the "Devil face" variation.
1969-1979 ("Scenes of Canada") series
Image Value Main Colour Description Date of
Obverse Reverse Obverse Reverse printing issue cessation of issue
Image:CAD1 Front.png Image:CAD1 Back.png $1‡ Dark green Queen Elizabeth II The parliament buildings from the Ottawa River, Ontario 1973 3 June 1974 30 June 1989
[34] [35] $2‡ Terra cotta Queen Elizabeth II Inuit hunting on Baffin Island, Northwest Territories 1974 5 August 1975 Newer $2 issued date
[36] [37] $5‡ Blue Sir Wilfrid Laurier Salmon seiner BCP 45 in Johnstone Strait, British Columbia 1972 4 December 1972 Newer $5 issued date
[38] [39] $5‡ 1979 1 October 1979 Newer $5 issued date
[40] [41] $10‡ Purple Sir John A. Macdonald Oil refinery in Sarnia, Ontario 1971 8 November 1971 Newer $10 issued date
[42] [43] $20‡ Green Queen Elizabeth II Moraine Lake and the Rocky Mountains, Alberta 1969 22 June 1969 Newer $20 issued date
[44] [45] $20‡ 1979 18 December 1979 Newer $20 issued date
[46] [47] $50‡ Red William Lyon Mackenzie King The RCMP Musical Ride 1975 31 March 1975 Newer $50 issued date
[48] [49] $100‡ Brown Sir Robert Borden Lunenburg Harbour, Nova Scotia 1975 31 May 1976 Newer $100 issued date
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixels per millimetre, a standard for world banknotes. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.
1986 ("Birds of Canada") series
Image Value Main Colour Description Date of
Obverse Reverse Obverse Reverse printing issue cessation of issue
Image:CAD2 Front.png Image:CAD2 Back.png $2 Terra cotta Queen Elizabeth II American robins 1986 2 September 1986 16 February 1996
[50] [51] $5 Blue Sir Wilfrid Laurier Belted kingfisher 1986 28 April 1986 Newer $5 issued date
[52] [53] $10 Purple Sir John A. Macdonald Osprey 1989 27 June 1989 Newer $10 issued date
[54] [55] $20 Green Queen Elizabeth II Common loon 1991 29 June 1993 Newer $20 issued date
[56] [57] $50 Red William Lyon Mackenzie King Snowy owl 1988 1 December 1989 Newer $50 issued date
$100 Brown Sir Robert Borden Canada goose 1988 3 December 1990 Newer $100 issued date
Image:CAD1000 Front.png Image:CAD1000 Back.png $1000 Reddish purple Queen Elizabeth II Pine grosbeak 1988 4 May 1992 12 May 2000
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixels per millimetre, a standard for world banknotes. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.
2001 ("Canadian Journey") series
Image Value Main Colour Description Date of
Obverse Reverse Obverse Reverse Watermark printing issue
Image:CAD5 Front.png Image:CAD5 Back.png $5 Blue Sir Wilfrid Laurier; the West Block of Parliament Children playing hockey and other winter sports; excerpt from "The Hockey Sweater" by Roch Carrier 2001 27 March 2002
$5 As portrait 2005 15 November 2006
[58] [59] $10 Purple Sir John A. Macdonald; the Library of Parliament Peacekeeping forces and war memorial; excerpt from "In Flanders Fields" by John McCrae 2000 17 January 2001
Image:CAD10 Front.png Image:CAD10 Back.png $10 As portrait 2005 18 May 2005
Image:CAD20 Front.png Image:CAD20 Back.png $20 Green Queen Elizabeth II; the Centre Block of Parliament Artwork of Bill Reid; excerpt from Gabrielle Roy's novel, The Hidden Mountain. As portrait 2004 29 September 2004
Image:CAD50 Front.png Image:CAD50 Back.png $50 Red William Lyon Mackenzie King; the Peace Tower The Famous Five and Thérèse Casgrain; quotation from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights As portrait 2004 17 November 2004
Image:CAD100 Front.png Image:CAD100 Back.png $100 Brown Sir Robert Borden; the East Block of Parliament Maps of Canada, historic and modern; excerpt from Miriam Waddington's poem, "Jacques Cartier in Toronto" As portrait 2003 17 March 2004
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixels per millimetre, a standard for world banknotes. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.
Commemorative Issues
Image Value Main Colour Description Date of
Obverse Reverse Obverse Reverse printing issue
Image:CAD25 English Front.png
fr		 Image:CAD25 English Back.png
fr		 $25‡ Purple King George V and Queen Mary Windsor Castle May 6, 1935
[60] [61] $1‡ Dark Green Elizabeth II Old parliament buildings in Ottawa - destroyed by fire in 1916 1967 3 January 1967
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixels per millimetre, a standard for world banknotes. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

‡ Withdrawn from circulation. Currency withdrawn from circulation is still legal tender. As of early 2005, the 1986-series $5 and $10 bills are still occasionally encountered, but they are rapidly disappearing from regular use. Despite the introduction of new notes, the 1986 $20, $50, and $100 are still common. $1,000 bills are no longer printed, but are still used by banks and casinos occasionally.

All bills of 1954 series or later measure 152.4 mm by 69.85 mm (6 by 2¾ inches).

See also Withdrawn Canadian banknotes.

[edit] Myths

A number of myths have circulated regarding Canadian banknotes.

  • An American flag is flying over the Parliament buildings on Canadian paper money. This is not the case. The Birds series bills depict a Union Jack flying over Parliament on the $100; a Canadian Red Ensign (a former Canadian flag) on the $5, $10, and $50; and the modern maple-leaf flag was on the $2 and $1000 bills. (The $20 depicts the Library of Parliament, with no flag visible.) Those "taken" by the rumour were likely fooled by the bills with the Red Ensign, as the flags are very small and not shown in full colour, and the Ensign with its contrasting canton somewhat resembles the American flag.
  • When a bill depicts a past prime minister, the Parliament buildings behind him are flying whichever flag Canada was using at the time of his tenure. The obverse of the Birds series featured images of prime ministers (or the Queen) and the houses of Parliament. However, as noted above, the $10 note featured the Red Ensign alongside Sir John A. Macdonald, who became prime minister 25 years before the Red Ensign was approved for use on the Merchant Marine and more than 50 years before it was used on government buildings. Also, the Union Jack is on the $100 with Sir Robert Borden, who came after Laurier who appears with the Red Ensign. This is sometimes explained by the fact that Borden governed during World War I. The views of the Houses of Parliament on the current Canadian Journey series do not feature any flag.
  • The new series $10 bill is being recalled because there is a misprint in the poem In Flanders Fields. The first line as printed, "In Flanders fields the poppies blow," startled many people, who believed the last word should be "grow". John McCrae wrote two versions which were both published, but his original manuscript, the one used by the government and widely used for Remembrance Day ceremonies, reads "blow". (The last two lines are, "We shall not sleep, though poppies grow/In Flanders fields.")

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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Canadian banknotes and coins
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