Politics·CBC Forum

Here are the Canadian women you think should be on the new bank note

An "iconic Canadian woman" will be featured on the next issue of Canadian bank notes, due out in 2018. Here are the Canadian women you thought might make a good fit.

Prime Minister Trudeau announced that a woman will be on the next series of bills due in 2018

A Canadian $20 bill
The only woman featured on a Canadian bank note is Queen Elizabeth, on the $20 bill. She is not a Canuck. (Chris Wattie/Reuters)

An "iconic Canadian woman" will be featured on the next issue of Canadian bank notes, due out in 2018.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement Tuesday to mark International Women's Day. Trudeau said the Bank of Canada will launch public consultations to pick a Canadian woman to be featured on the bill.

It was not indicated which bill would showcase the woman. The nominees cannot be a fictional character and must have died prior to April 15, 1991.

Currently, Queen Elizabeth is featured on the Canuck $20 bill.

We wanted to know who you thought might be a good fit. We asked which Canadian women should be on the new bank note and you weighed in via CBC Forum, our experiment to encourage a different kind of discussion on our website.

The two most popular choices were Nellie McClung — who led the fight for the women's vote in Canada in the early 1900s — and Laura Secord, a heroine of the War of 1812.

Other popular choices included:

  • Artist Emily Carr
  • Civil rights icon Viola Desmond
  • Author Lucy Maud Montgomery

Here are some of the other suggestions that came up in the discussion.

Adelaide Hunter Hoodless, Agnes Macphail, Charlotte Whitton, Elizabeth Bagshaw, Elsie MacGill, Emily Howard Stowe, Emily Murphy, The Famous Five, Gertrude Moltke Bernard, Jennie Trout, Kateri Tekakwitha, Mary Pickford, Muriel McQueen Ferguson, Nahnebahwequay, Pauline Johnson and Shanawdithit.

You can read the full CBC Forum live blog discussion on females on Canadian currency below.

Can't see the forum discussion? Click here