---
title: "What is on Canada's banknotes?"
description: "The Canadian dollar: who is on each denomination, what was withdrawn and why, what the notes are printed on, and whether the sizes differ."
url: https://atoneplace.net/banknote/canada/
site: "At One Place"
---

# What is on the money in Canada?

**The money in Canada: Canadian dollar (CAD, $)**

5 denominations in issue · Polymer

Canada moved fully to polymer between 2011 and 2013. The vertical $10 carrying Viola Desmond, issued in 2018, made her the first Canadian woman on a regular circulating note — she was arrested in 1946 for sitting in the whites-only section of a Nova Scotia cinema and was pardoned posthumously in 2010. Canadian notes carry a tactile feature of raised dots for blind users, in a system devised with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.

## Who and what is on each note

| Note | Who or what is on it |
| --- | --- |
| $5 | Sir Wilfrid Laurier |
| $10 | Viola Desmond, civil rights figure |
| $20 | The monarch |
| $50 | William Lyon Mackenzie King |
| $100 | Sir Robert Borden |

## The unusual part

Canadian notes are all the same size but carry raised tactile dots — a different solution to the same problem the US has not solved.

## Notes that were withdrawn

| Note | When | Why |
| --- | --- | --- |
| $1,000 | 2000 | Withdrawn at the request of law enforcement, who argued it was used almost exclusively for money laundering. |

## The practical facts

- **Currency:** Canadian dollar — ISO code CAD, symbol $
- **Printed on:** Polymer
- **Survives a wash?:** Yes. Polymer notes come out of a washing machine intact.
- **Can a blind person tell them apart?:** Not by size. Every denomination is the same size, so it depends on whatever tactile feature the issuer has added.
- **Highest note in issue:** $100 — Sir Robert Borden

> This page describes the notes rather than showing them. Reproducing a banknote image is restricted in most jurisdictions, and the restrictions differ between them.

## Common questions

### Who is on the money in Canada?

$5: Sir Wilfrid Laurier. $10: Viola Desmond, civil rights figure. $20: The monarch. $50: William Lyon Mackenzie King. $100: Sir Robert Borden.

### Are Canada's banknotes polymer or paper?

Polymer. Polymer notes last two to three times as long as paper ones and survive a washing machine.

### Why was the $1,000 withdrawn?

Withdrawn at the request of law enforcement, who argued it was used almost exclusively for money laundering. (2000.)

## Related pages

- [Canada](https://atoneplace.net/country/canada/)
- [The flag of Canada](https://atoneplace.net/flag/canada/)
- [The money in United States](https://atoneplace.net/banknote/united-states/)
- [The money in Eurozone](https://atoneplace.net/banknote/eurozone/)
- [The money in United Kingdom](https://atoneplace.net/banknote/united-kingdom/)
- [The money in India](https://atoneplace.net/banknote/india/)
- [The money in Japan](https://atoneplace.net/banknote/japan/)
- [The money in Zimbabwe](https://atoneplace.net/banknote/zimbabwe/)
- [The money in Australia](https://atoneplace.net/banknote/australia/)
- [The money in China](https://atoneplace.net/banknote/china/)
- [The money in Switzerland](https://atoneplace.net/banknote/switzerland/)
- [The money in South Africa](https://atoneplace.net/banknote/south-africa/)

## Sources

- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place (/about/)