Canada's $5 bill is getting a makeover featuring an entirely new Canadian icon
Get ready for change (and we don't mean spare coins).
Someone holds a Canadian $5 bill featuring a portrait of Sir Wilfred Laurier.
If you're used to seeing Sir Wilfrid Laurier's face every time you buy a coffee, get ready for a change — and we don't mean spare coins. Canada's $5 bill is officially getting a makeover.
In its 2024 Fall Economic Statement, released on Monday, the Government of Canada revealed that a new national icon will grace the popular banknote. While Laurier, Canada's first French-Canadian prime minister, has long been seen as a symbol of national unity and bilingualism, the new design will feature another legendary Canadian who left a lasting impact on Quebec.
Terry Fox, a universally celebrated Canadian hero, has been chosen to appear on the new $5 bill. Fox's selection follows an extensive process led by an independent advisory council. Over 600 nominees were considered following a public consultation, and Fox emerged as the top choice from a shortlist of eight 'NOTE-able' Canadians.
"Terry Fox is a Canadian hero. He campaigned to raise 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, the Marathon of Hope had raised $24.7 million or $1 for every Canadian," the announcement reads.
"Today, Terry Fox Runs are held every year, across the country, and around the world to raise money for cancer research. To inspire more Canadians to give $5 to the cause that Terry Fox championed."
Fox's historic Marathon of Hope took him through Quebec in addition to Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Ontario. He was forced to end the journey near Thunder Bay when his cancer progressed to his lungs.
This year, Montreal's Terry Fox run, which departed from the Old Port, raised more than $300,000 for cancer research.
As for Sir Wilfrid Laurier, it's not a farewell but rather a relocation — albeit how often you see him may depend on the size of your future paycheques. The former prime minister will move to the next version of the $50 note, replacing William Lyon Mackenzie King.
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