One hundred years after Canadian women won the right to vote in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta provincial elections, the Royal Canadian Mint has released a special one-dollar circulation coin to commemorate this important milestone in the history of women’s rights in Canada. The coin was unveiled March 8 by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Finance Minister Bill Morneau, at a ceremony held on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
“As Canada joins the world today in celebrating International Women’s Day, the Government of Canada is delighted that the Mint has commemorated a milestone in the history of Canadian women with a special one-dollar coin recognizing the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote,” said Morneau. “Canadians from coast to coast to coast should look for this coin and collect it as a reminder that equality endures as a fundamental value of Canadian society.”
From left, John Young (president and CEO of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights), Bonnie Staples-Lyon (Royal Canadian Mint board member), Lila Goodspeed (chairwoman of the Nellie McClung Foundation) and Tom Roche (senior director of manufacturing, Royal Canadian Mint Winnipeg facility) take part in the Royal Canadian Mint’s unveiling of the special one-dollar circulation coin to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Canadian women gaining the right to vote. The coin was unveiled at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg, Man.
Photo by Jason Halstead/CPimages
“The Mint is proud to issue a new one-dollar circulation coin which shares the story of the 100th anniversary of a moment which forever changed voting rights for Canadian women,” said Sandra Hanington, president and CEO of the RCM. “It is especially fitting that this coin was produced in Winnipeg, in the province where women first won the right to vote in 1916.”
A total of five million Women’s Right to Vote one-dollar circulation coins will be available nation-wide. Designed by Canadian artist Laurie McGaw, the reverse of this coin features a 1916-era depiction of woman and child, with the woman casting a ballot as the child looks on. The inscriptions “WOMEN’S RIGHT TO VOTE”, “DROIT DE VOTE DES FEMMES” and “1916-2016” also appear in the top portion of the coin.
Canadians can look for this coin in their change, attend coin exchanges at the Mint’s Ottawa, Winnipeg and Vancouver boutiques, or obtain limited quantities through an online coin exchange at www.mint.ca (limited to Canada only).