Advisory council to whittle down 500 nominees for new $5

Seven Canadians recently appointed to an independent advisory council by the Bank of Canada are now tasked with paring down a list of 500 eligible nominees to help decide the face of the new $5 banknote.

The council will develop a shortlist after evaluating the nominees submitted by nearly 40,000 Canadians from Jan. 29 to March 11. The shortlist will then be presented to Finance Minister Bill Morneau, who will make the final decision.

Bank officials are also monitoring the COVID-19 outbreak in Canada and its impact on the selection process for the new $5 banknote.

“As the situation continues to evolve, it’s too early to provide specifics at this point,” Amélie Ferron-Craig, media relations consultant with the Bank of Canada, told CCN on March 19. “We will announce next steps in the selection process in due course.”

ADVISORY COUNCIL

The seven-person advisory council includes:

  • Nicholas Bell, president and CEO of Calgary’s Glenbow Museum;
  • Michel Côté, executive director of Québec City’s Musées de la civilisation and founding director of France’s Musée des Confluences;
  • Charlotte Gray, who The Winnipeg Free Press called “one of Canada’s best-loved writers of popular history and literary biography”;
  • Benoît Huot, a Paralympic athlete who won 20 medals at five Paralympic Games from 2000-16;
  • Tatanniq Lucie Idlout, an Inuk singer/songwriter, actor and activist, who’s the granddaughter of Joseph Idlout, who was featured on the 1969-79 “Scenes of Canada” $2 banknote;
  • Major Nathalie Sleno, a doctor, flight surgeon and co-founder and director of Leap Biosystems; and
  • Candace Thomas, a partner with the Stewart McKelvey law firm and former lead of the Owner Managed Business Practice Group.

A FEW YEARS?

The banknote design process will begin once the new portrait subject is chosen.

“All we know right now is that it will be a polymer note with a vertical design,” according to a statement from the bank, which added the note is expected to begin circulating “in a few years.”

Leave a Reply

Canadian Coin News

Canada

Canadian Coin News is Canada's premier source of information about coins, notes and medals.

Although we cover the entire world of numismatics, the majority of our readers are Canadian, and we concentrate on the unique circumstances surrounding collecting in our native land.

Send Us Your Event

Running an event? Send it to us and we will display it on Canadian Coin News!

Submit Event →

Subscribe To 26 Issues For Just $59.99/year

Subscribe today to receive Canada's premier coin publication. Canadian Coin News is available in both paper and digital forms.

Subscribe Now

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage.