Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Westcoast Women in Engineering, Science and Technology

home / WWEST Blog / 20160322
Print

Nominate an Iconic Woman to Appear on a New Canadian Bank Note

March 22, 2016

WRITTEN BY: JENNA ANDERSON

To celebrate International Women’s Day, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Minister of Finance Bill Morneau announced the creation of a new polymer bank note featuring an iconic Canadian woman to be released in 2018. The Bank of Canada has left the decision of what woman will be featured on the bank note up to the Canadian public.

The first women, other than Queen Elizabeth, to be represented on a Canadian bank note were the Famous Five, a group of five Alberta women who asked the Supreme Court of Canada to answer whether women were defined as legal persons. The Famous Five were commemorated on the 2001 Journey Series of Canada’s fifty-dollar bill. However, in 2011 the Bank of Canada removed these women and replaced them with an image of an icebreaker.

Historian Merna Foster took issue with this removal and began to push the effort of having women represented on Canadian currency. In July 2013, Foster started an online campaign calling for women to be represented on bank notes. She claimed, “bank notes that belong to all Canadians should depict a wider range of Canadians, of both genders as well as various ethnic origins. Who and what is celebrated on our bank notes matters, as it reflects what we consider important in our culture and history and who we consider worthy of honouring for achievement.” Foster’s petition acquired 73,168 signatures.

Nominations for a historical woman to be featured on the 2018 bank note are open until April 15, 2016. Nominees must be:
· Canadian citizens (by birth or naturalization)
· Women who have demonstrated outstanding leadership, achievement or distinction that has benefited Canada
· Deceased for at least 25 years.

Each person can nominate up to five women. Nominees will be reviewed by an independent Advisory Council composed of distinguished Canadian academic, cultural and thought leaders. The final decision of which woman will be on the Canadian bank note will be made by the Minister of Finance, in accordance with the Bank of Canada Act.

Here are some outstanding women we think should be recognized:

Elsie MacGill – MacGill was the Chief Aeronautical Engineer at Canadian Car and Foundry Company in the 1940's and was one of the leading aeronautical engineers in the designing and construction of Hawker Hurricane airplanes during the Second World War. Elsie MacGill was a war hero and a symbol of Canada’s wartime economic transformation. She was also the first woman in Canada to graduate with a degree in electrical engineering. A comic book, called Queen of the Hurricanes (her nickname), was devoted to recognizing her contributions to Canada.

Elsie MacGill is the recommended nomination of Engineers Canada. “I encourage other engineers, the engineering profession, and all Canadians who have benefitted from her advocacy of women and children to nominate her as well,” said Engineers Canada Chief Executive Officer Kim Allen, FEC, P.Eng., FCAE, MBA. To read more about Elsie MacGill's accomplishments and Engineers Canada's recommendation click here.

Dr. Elizabeth Bagshaw – Bagshaw was one of the first women to become a doctor in Canada and was the medical director of the first birth control clinic in Canada, established in 1932. She courageously provided contraception information and help to women despite opposition from medical colleagues and local clergy. In 1978 the National Film Board of Canada produced a film about her called Doctor Woman: The Life and Times of Dr. Elizabeth Bagshaw.

Do you have more ideas of iconic Canadian women you think should be recognized? Join the conversation and share the women you think should be commemorated on the Canadian bank note with the hashtag #BankNOTEable.