One Of These 5 Women Will Appear On An Upcoming Canadian Banknote

One Of These 5 Women Will Appear On An Upcoming Canadian Banknote
One Of These 5 Women Will Appear On An Upcoming Canadian Banknote

The Bank of Canada has released the short list of five women from which one will be chosen to be featured on the next regularly circulated banknote expected in 2018.

The final selection as well as the denomination of the bill on which she will appear will be revealed by Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz on Thursday, December 8, 2016.

Here’s the short list of women under consideration:

  • Viola Desmond – Activist (1914–1965) A Nova Scotian best known for her courageous refusal, in 1946, to accept racial discrimination by sitting in a whites-only section of a New Glasgow movie theatre.
  • E. Pauline Johnson – Poet (1861–1913) Daughter of a Mohawk chief and an Englishwoman, best known for the poetry she wrote celebrating her Aboriginal heritage.
  • Elizabeth (Elsie) MacGill – Engineer (1905–1980) The first woman in Canada to receive a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering (University of Toronto, 1927) and a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering (University of Michigan, 1929).
  • Fanny (Bobbie) Rosenfeld – Athlete (1904–1969) At the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, she took the silver medal in the 100-metre dash and was lead runner for the women’s 4 x 100 metre relay team that won gold in a record time of 48.2 seconds.
  • Idola Saint-Jean – Suffragette and Activist (1880–1945) An actress, teacher and author, Idola Saint-Jean is primarily known as a feminist and pioneer in the fight for suffrage in Quebec. She led the efforts to obtain the right for Quebec women to vote in provincial elections.

The women were selected from 461 eligible nominees submitted by Canadians during an open call for nominations, launched by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on International Women’s Day, 8 March 2016. More than 26,300 submissions were received from Canadians over a five-week period.

The Advisory Council members agreed that the shorlist five women best articulated the Council’s ultimate selection criteria: that nominees should have broken or overcome barriers, made a significant change, left a lasting legacy, and be inspirational.

Image – Bank of Canada

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