Canadian Journey Series
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Canadian Journey is the sixth series of
banknotes of the Canadian dollar Banknotes of the Canadian dollar are the banknotes or bills (in common lexicon) of Canada, denominated in Canadian dollars (CAD, C$, or $ locally). Currently, they are issued in $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100 denominations. All current notes are i ...
designed and circulated by the Bank of Canada. It succeeded the 1986 Birds of Canada banknote series. The first banknote of the Canadian Journey series issued into circulation was the $10 bill on 17 January 2001, and the last to be issued was the $50 bill on 17 November 2004. The series was succeeded by the 2011 Frontier Series, the banknotes of which were first issued into circulation from 2011 to 2013. This series introduced new security features and discontinued the use o
planchettes
a security feature common since the earliest Canadian banknote series. All banknotes have tactile features to assist people who have
visual impairment Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment†...
s to identify the notes. Designs on the reverse of each banknote in the series were based on themes of fundamental Canadian values and achievements. The $20 banknote was awarded 2004 Banknote of the Year by the International Bank Note Society.


Design

The Bank of Canada began the process for a banknote series to replace Birds of Canada in 1997 by establishing a currency development team. It faced several constraints, including the use of a more secure substrate, addressing increased counterfeiting, improving accessibility for those with
visual impairment Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment†...
s, and ensuring a financially feasible production because of budgetary constraints. The
Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance. Lists of current ministries of finance Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Finance and Ec ...
was involved in the design process, providing ideas for banknote themes for the series. The formal design of the banknotes began in 1998 and was performed by a team led by art director Jorge Peral at the
Canadian Bank Note Company The Canadian Bank Note Company (CBNC) is a Canadian security printing company. It is best known for holding the contract with the Bank of Canada to supply it with Canada's banknotes since 1935. The company's other clients include private busin ...
, which also had members from the British American Bank Note Company. The team created model designs that were reviewed by focus groups. The Bank of Canada had considered using portraits of famous Canadian artists and inventors, instead of those of the
Queen of Canada The monarchy of Canada is Canada's form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is at the core of Canada's constitutional Canadian federalism, federal structure and Westminster system, Westminster-style Parliamentar ...
and former prime ministers, but ultimately rejected the idea at the request of Jean Chrétien, who preferred the familiar portraits. Early prototype designs included prominent portraits and vignettes of parliamentary buildings similar to those of the final design. The reverse of each denomination featured an animal indigenous to Canada in vertical portrait orientation. The set of themes that would ultimately be chosen had to adhere to modern banknote security design principles and "reflect fundamental values recognized and cherished across the country". These values included
Canadian culture The culture of Canada embodies the artistic, culinary, literary, humour, musical, political and social elements that are representative of Canadians. Throughout Canada's history, its culture has been influenced by European culture and traditi ...
, diversity (for example
multiculturalism The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for " ethnic pluralism", with the two terms often used interchang ...
), achievements, and that the concepts could be rendered artistically. Two elements of the design would not be changed: the portraits featured on each denomination and the dominant colour for each denomination, both of which were to be the same as those for the respective denomination in the Birds of Canada series. It was the first time the Bank of Canada involved the public in the design process for a banknote series, conducting telephone surveys in 1997 to obtain public opinion about design themes and selecting individuals to participate in
focus group A focus group is a group interview involving a small number of demographically similar people or participants who have other common traits/experiences. Their reactions to specific researcher/evaluator-posed questions are studied. Focus groups are ...
s to review design selections. Children throughout Canada submitted designs to the Bank of Canada via their elementary schools, and over 4,000 Canadians participated in the design process. All banknotes in the series feature a stylised Flag of Canada in the upper right-hand corner of the obverse, and measured . Each banknote also included an excerpt from literary works reflecting the denomination's theme.


Security

Because of the increasing proliferation of affordable consumer colour photocopiers, inkjet printers, and
scanners ''Scanners'' is a 1981 Canadian science fiction horror film written and directed by David Cronenberg and starring Stephen Lack, Jennifer O'Neill, Michael Ironside, and Patrick McGoohan. In the film, "scanners" are psychics with unusual telepathi ...
, the security features of Birds of Canada was becoming increasingly easier to circumvent. As a result, the Bank of Canada undertook development of the Canadian Journey Series, during which time it also developed a new anti-counterfeiting strategy. In addition to improving the security of the substrate and the integration of security features in the banknote designs, the Bank of Canada also launched a public education campaign, actively deterred counterfeiting by closer collaboration with law enforcement, and accelerated the removal and destruction of banknotes from older series from circulation. Moreover, it actively discourages financial transactions using banknotes from older series.


Substrate

In the mid 1990s, the Bank of Canada tested a new substrate, named "Luminus" and produced by Domtar, for use in printing banknotes. It printed 100,000 experimental $5 banknotes, using the Birds of Canada design, having a substrate of polymer core between two layers of cotton paper. The notes were issued into circulation, and the test found "no major problems" with the substrate. It was chosen as the substrate for the $5 and $10 banknotes in June 1998 and for all other denominations in September 1999. In December 1999, the manufacturer withdrew its offer to supply the substrate because of technical production issues and its market viability. The Bank of Canada found a cotton fibre substrate with "characteristics similar to those of Luminus" on which to print the $10 banknote it would issue in January 2001 and later for the $5 banknote issued in March 2002. The similarity of the substrate to Luminus would enable a transition to it once production issues were resolved, as the Bank of Canada had acquired Canada-wide rights to the substrate and continued to develop it, but the project was ultimately discontinued in 2002. As a result, the Bank of Canada chose to use the standard watermarked paper, but required suppliers to include a "windowed metallic thread" in the substrate.


Features

Incorporating the desired security features into the design was a "challenging aspect of the design process". These features included: intaglio printing, such as the raised ink in some numerals;
microprinting Microprinting is the production of recognizable patterns or characters in a printed medium at a scale that requires magnification to read with the naked eye. To the unaided eye, the text may appear as a solid line. Attempts to reproduce by meth ...
, such as in the descriptions adjacent to the building vignettes on the obverse of each banknote; a holographic stripe adjacent to the portrait, with iridescent
maple leaves The maple leaf is the characteristic leaf of the maple tree. It is the most widely recognized national symbol of Canada. History of use in Canada By the early 1700s, the maple leaf had been adopted as an emblem by the French Canadians along th ...
shifting from a matte to shiny gold when tilted; a watermark of the portrait and denomination's value in an empty space near the building vignettes; a see-through number with disjoint components appearing as a complete numeral when viewed with background lighting; a colour-shifting thread embedded on one side of the banknote, on which is printed the banknote's denomination; and features visible when exposed to ultraviolet light. Features implemented with raised ink on the obverse of each banknote include the large numeral at the bottom right, the shoulder of the portrait, and the words "Bank of Canada" and "Banque du Canada" in a vertical stripe to the left of the holographic metallic strip. A genuine banknote from this series will not fluoresce when exposed to ultraviolet light except for the coat of arms and the words "Bank of Canada", "Banque du Canada", "Ten", and "Dix" over the left portion of the portrait. Randomly distributed white security fibres embedded in the substrate will glow red. When a banknote is backlit, the "ghost-like" portrait in the watermark will become visible and the colour-shifting thread is revealed as a set of windows along a continuous line that shift colour when tilted. The maple leaves on the holographic metallic strip appear to move when the note is tilted, and each is split by a colour change. The series also excluded former security features, such as the planchettes, green dots randomly occurring on the surface of the banknotes. Planchettes were replaced by coloured fibres embedded in the paper that
fluoresce Fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. It is a form of luminescence. In most cases, the emitted light has a longer wavelength, and therefore a lower photon energy, tha ...
when exposed to
ultraviolet Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30  PHz) to 400 nm (750  THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation ...
light. Each banknote features the
EURion constellation The EURion constellation (also known as Omron rings or doughnuts) is a pattern of symbols incorporated into a number of secure documents such as banknotes and ownership title certificates designs worldwide since about 1996. It is added to help ...
. On the obverse, the pattern occurs in a band between the portrait's shoulder and the signatures of the
Governor of the Bank of Canada The governor of the Bank of Canada () is the chief executive officer of the Bank of Canada and acts as chair of its board of directors. The ''Bank of Canada Act'', 1985, S. 6(1), provides that the governor and deputy governor shall be appointed ...
and deputy governor in the lower right of the banknote. All but the $50 banknote also contain several instances of the constellation on the lower portion of the building vignette at the centre of the banknote. On the reverse, the $5 and $10 banknotes have a visible plain yellow EURion constellation pattern. The pattern is "clearly identifiable" on the $20 and $100 banknotes, which encloses each dot of the constellation in a blank circle. On the $50 banknote, the pattern is nearly undetectable, as a pattern of fine red lines masks the yellow dots; these are revealed when viewing the blue channel of a digital image of the banknote.


Accessibility

The Bank of Canada began investigating integration of accessibility features into banknotes with the passage of the
Canadian Human Rights Act The ''Canadian Human Rights Act'' (french: Loi canadienne sur les droits de la personne) is a statute passed by the Parliament of Canada in 1977 with the express goal of extending the law to ensure equal opportunity to individuals who may be vi ...
in 1977. Its research indicated that Braille was not a viable option, as not all visually impaired individuals are able to read it, and denominations of different sizes are not financially viable. It thus chose to develop features that could be identified by a banknote reader, which it implemented in the Birds of Canada series. For the Canadian Journey Series, the Bank of Canada and the Canadian National Institute for the Blind held consultations with "experts in the fields of vision and tactility perception", during which several desirable features were identified. The Bank of Canada concluded that accessibility features should enable an individual to identify a banknote's denomination "quickly, independently, privately, and with the note in any orientation" and that it should implement features assisting individuals with a range of vision impairments. It again rejected denominations having banknotes of different size for being inconsistent with the use of banknote processing equipment such as
automated teller machine An automated teller machine (ATM) or cash machine (in British English) is an electronic telecommunications device that enables customers of financial institutions to perform financial transactions, such as cash withdrawals, deposits, fun ...
s,
vending machine A vending machine is an automated machine that provides items such as snacks, beverages, cigarettes, and lottery tickets to consumers after cash, a credit card, or other forms of payment are inserted into the machine or otherwise made. The ...
s,
self checkout Self-checkouts (SCOs), also known as assisted checkouts (ACOs) or self-service checkouts, are machines that provide a mechanism for customers to complete their own transaction from a retailer without needing a traditional staffed checkout. When ...
machines,
slot machine A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English) or poker machine (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known pejoratively a ...
s, ticket and parking lot machines, and note sorting equipment. This series was the first issued by the Bank of Canada to incorporate a tactile feature to allow individuals with
visual impairment Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment†...
s to determine a banknote's denomination. This takes the form of
Braille Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are blind, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on embossed paper or by using refreshable braille disp ...
blocks consisting of six dots arranged in two parallel columns, each denomination having a different pattern of blocks, placed on the top right-hand corner when facing the obverse. The feature was developed by the Canadian Bank Note Company, which collaborated with Queen's University tactility perception expert for symbol design. It produced 48 sample designs, of which six were selected for final consideration based on tactility, production techniques, and banknote thickness. These were tested with collaboration of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind and the Canadian Council of the Blind by individuals with functional blindness. The feature was considered appealing as it did not require individuals to use assistive technology in order to identify a banknote's denomination. The colour for each banknote denomination was updated to enable individuals to more easily distinguish between them, particularly the brown of the $100 banknote and the red of the $50 banknote, along with the purple of the $10 banknote and the blue of the $5 banknote. The design of each denomination also included large, high-contrast numerals and a barcode, each identifying the respective denomination. The numerals were about 30% larger than in the Birds of Canada series and were chosen after testing conducted by vision experts at the
University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to "Uptown" Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also operates ...
. The electronic banknote reader distributed for Canadians requiring assistive technologies was also updated to be able to scan and identify these banknotes, and was half the size and weight than that used for the Birds of Canada series. It was also improved by adding tone and vibration output modes in addition to the speech synthesis voice output of the earlier model. Its development cost about . Approximately 3% of a banknote's production cost is associated with the tactile feature.


Banknotes


$5 note

The theme chosen for the $5 banknote was "children at play". The banknote was the second issued in the series and was first circulated in March 2002. An updated version of the $5 denomination banknote, incorporating the security features introduced in the higher-denomination banknotes of this series, was issued in November 2006. The obverse has a portrait of
Wilfrid Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier, ( ; ; November 20, 1841 â€“ February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadian prime minis ...
, the engraving for which was created by CzesƂaw SƂania. The building depicted at the centre is a vignette of the
West Block The West Block (officially the Western Departmental Building; french: Édifice administratif de l'ouest) is one of the three buildings on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Ontario. Since 28 January 2019, it has housed the interim House of Commons Cham ...
of Parliament Hill. The reverse features a depiction of the banknote's theme, with images of children tobogganing, skating, and playing hockey on a frozen pond. Below a white snowflake near the middle of the banknote is an excerpt from " The Hockey Sweater" by Roch Carrier. It and the $10 bill were the last of the Canadian Journey banknotes to be printed, with printing ceasing in November 2013.
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$10 note

The theme chosen for the $10 banknote was "remembrance and peacekeeping". The banknote was the first issued in the series and was first circulated on 17 January 2001. An updated version of the $10 denomination banknote, incorporating the security features introduced in the higher-denomination banknotes of this series, was issued in May 2005. The obverse has a portrait of
John A. Macdonald Sir John Alexander Macdonald (January 10 or 11, 1815 – June 6, 1891) was the first prime minister of Canada, serving from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 to 1891. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, he had a political career that sp ...
, the engraving for which was created by Peral. The vignette at the centre is the
Library of Parliament The Library of Parliament (french: BibliothĂšque du Parlement) is the main information repository and research resource for the Parliament of Canada. The main branch of the library sits at the rear of the Centre Block on Parliament Hill in Otta ...
building. The reverse features a depiction of the chosen theme. Standing in front of a large
cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...
in the background are a female
Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack submar ...
officer and a male
Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also res ...
master corporal, and in the foreground are two children with Canadian Armed Forces veteran Robert Metcalfe observing
Remembrance Day Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in t ...
. In the centre is a female
Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...
officer depicted in peacekeeping duties wearing a combat uniform and blue beret. Adjacent to the officer are white doves in flight and the phrase "In the service of peace". In the lower left corner are red poppies superimposed on a maple leaf, beside which is an excerpt from "
In Flanders Fields "In Flanders Fields" is a war poem in the form of a rondeau, written during the First World War by Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae. He was inspired to write it on May 3, 1915, after presiding over the funeral of friend and ...
", a war poem in the form of a rondeau written by
John McCrae Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae (November 30, 1872 – January 28, 1918) was a Canadian poet, physician, author, artist and soldier during World War I, and a surgeon during the Second Battle of Ypres, in Belgium. He is best known for writing the ...
during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
that is now a
Remembrance Day Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in t ...
icon. Underneath it is an equivalent excerpt from "Au champ d'honneur", the French translation of the poem written by Jean Pariseau. The text of the poem was obtained from a manuscript hand-written by McCrae stored at Library and Archives Canada. Red poppies became a symbol of remembrance for war dead because of McCrae's poem. It and the $5 bill were the last of the Canadian Journey banknotes to be printed, with printing ceasing in November 2013.
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$20 note

The theme chosen for the $20 banknote was "arts and culture". The banknote was first circulated in September 2004. The portrait's engraving on the obverse was created by Peral based on a photograph of
Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
taken by Charles Green in 2000. The photograph was taken specifically for rendering an image on this banknote, which appears next to a vignette of the
Centre Block The Centre Block (french: Édifice du Centre) is the main building of the Canadian parliamentary complex on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Ontario, containing the House of Commons and Senate chambers, as well as the offices of a number of members ...
of Parliament Hill. The reverse depicts the chosen theme using illustrations of artwork created by
Bill Reid William Ronald Reid Jr. (12 January 1920 – 13 March 1998) (Haida) was a Canadian artist whose works include jewelry, sculpture, screen-printing, and paintings. Producing over one thousand original works during his fifty-year career, Reid ...
, an artist of maternal Haida heritage from which he draws creative inspiration. To the far left is an illustration of ''
The Raven and the First Men ''The Raven and the First Men'' is a sculpture by Haida artist Bill Reid. It depicts the Haida creation myth. It was carved from a single block of laminated yellow cedar, beginning in the fall of 1978, and took two years to complete, with work com ...
'', a laminated yellow cedar sculpture housed at the Museum of Anthropology at the
University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thre ...
, adjacent to which is an excerpt from the 1961 book '' La Montagne secrĂšte'' by
Gabrielle Roy Gabrielle Roy (March 22, 1909July 13, 1983) was a Canadian author from St. Boniface, Manitoba and one of the major figures in French Canadian literature. Early life Roy was born in 1909 in Saint-Boniface (now part of Winnipeg), Manitoba, and ...
and its English translation by Harry Binsse. To the right is a prominent illustration of the sculpture ''
Spirit of Haida Gwaii The ''Spirit of Haida Gwaii'' is a sculpture by British Columbia Haida artist Bill Reid (1920–1998). There are two versions of it: the black canoe and the jade canoe. The black canoe features on Canadian $20 bills of the Canadian Journey serie ...
'', with a yellow-toned background depicting the ceremonial drum sculpture ''Haida Grizzly Bear''. In the upper right-hand corner is an illustration depicting the sculpture ''Mythic Messengers'', an bronze
frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...
now installed at the Bill Reid Gallery of Northwest Coast Art.
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$50 note

The theme chosen for the $50 banknote was "nation building". The banknote was first circulated in November 2004 and was the last of the Canadian Journey banknotes to be introduced. The obverse portrait is of
William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A L ...
created using a computer-assisted engraving process by
Giesecke & Devrient Giesecke+Devrient, also known as (G+D), is a German company headquartered in Munich that provides banknote and securities printing, smart cards, and cash handling systems. History Founded in 1852 by Hermann Giesecke and Alphonse Devrient, th ...
. The central vignette depicts the
Peace Tower The Peace Tower (french: link=no, Tour de la Paix) is a focal bell and clock tower sitting on the central axis of the Centre Block of the Canadian parliament buildings in Ottawa, Ontario. The present incarnation replaced the Victoria Towe ...
on Parliament Hill. The reverse features an illustration of the statue of the women known as The Famous Five fronted by an illustration of the ThérÚse Casgrain Volunteer Award medallion honouring
ThĂ©rĂšse Casgrain Marie ThĂ©rĂšse Casgrain, ., nĂ©e Forget (10 July 1896 – 3 November 1981) was a French Canadian feminist, reformer, politician and senator. She was a leader in the fight for women's right to vote in the province of Quebec, as well as the first ...
. The text excerpt included on the left-hand side is a quotation from the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, ...
, the first draft of which was composed by Canadian
human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
advocate John Peters Humphrey.
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$100 note

The theme chosen for the $100 banknote was "exploration and innovation". Its design involved input from seven separate sources, among them
Natural Resources Canada Natural Resources Canada (NRCan; french: Ressources naturelles Canada; french: RNCan, label=none)Natural Resources Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Natural Resources (). is the dep ...
, the Canadian Space Agency, the
National Archives of Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: BibliothĂšque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is t ...
, and the
Canadian Canoe Museum The Canadian Canoe Museum is a museum dedicated to canoes located in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. The museum's mission is to preserve and share the culture and history of the canoe. History It was founded as the Kanawa Museum, which was also ...
. The banknote was first circulated on 17 March 2004. On the obverse is a portrait of
Robert Borden Sir Robert Laird Borden (June 26, 1854 â€“ June 10, 1937) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Canada from 1911 to 1920. He is best known for his leadership of Canada during World War I. Borde ...
, based on a
watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...
by Peral, engraved by CzesƂaw SƂania. The vignette at the centre is of the
East Block The East Block (officially the Eastern Departmental Building; french: Édifice administratif de l'est) is one of the three buildings on Canada's Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Ontario, containing offices for parliamentarians, as well as some preser ...
of Parliament Hill. On the reverse is a depiction of the chosen theme featuring Canadian achievements in
cartography Cartography (; from grc, Ï‡ÎŹÏÏ„Î·Ï‚ , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an i ...
and
communications Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...
. In the lower left-hand corner is an illustration of a birch bark canoe and a 1632 map of
New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...
by Samuel de Champlain, above which is a quotation from the poem ''Jaques Cartier in Toronto'' by Miriam Waddington and a French translation by Christine Klein-Letaud. To the right is a satellite image of Canada, with an illustration of
Radarsat-1 RADARSAT-1 was Canada's first commercial Earth observation satellite. It utilized synthetic aperture radar (SAR) to obtain images of the Earth's surface to manage natural resources and monitor global climate change. As of March 2013, the satelli ...
to its left and a communications antenna to its right.
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Printings

Canadian Journey Series banknotes differ based on the date they were printed. Other than the change to the $5 and $10 banknotes to update their security features, the most notable change is the combination of signatures of the
Governor of the Bank of Canada The governor of the Bank of Canada () is the chief executive officer of the Bank of Canada and acts as chair of its board of directors. The ''Bank of Canada Act'', 1985, S. 6(1), provides that the governor and deputy governor shall be appointed ...
and the Deputy Governor occurring on the banknotes, which were updated with every change to the executive of the Bank of Canada. The following signature combination banknotes were released: Canadian Banknotes were printed by two different security printers until 2011: the
Canadian Banknote Company The Canadian Bank Note Company (CBNC) is a Canadian security printing company. It is best known for holding the contract with the Bank of Canada to supply it with Canada's banknotes since 1935. The company's other clients include private busine ...
and BA International Inc. The serial number prefix indicates which printer was responsible for printing the particular banknote.


Counterfeiting

The first two banknotes issued in the series introduced three security features new to Canadian banknotes. These were the hidden number to the left of the portrait, the iridescent maple leaves, and the fluorescent features (embedded fibre and images over left side of the portrait). These features did not deter counterfeiting. In 2003, high-quality counterfeits of the $10 banknote appeared in circulation in Ontario and Quebec. In May 2006,
Peel Regional Police The Peel Regional Police (PRP) provide policing services for Peel Region (excluding Caledon) in Ontario, Canada. It is the second largest municipal police service in Ontario after the Toronto Police Service and third largest municipal force in C ...
in the Greater Toronto Area seized $50,000 worth of $20 and $50 counterfeit banknotes and received assistance from the Integrated Counterfeit Enforcement Teams division of the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...
to search for the production plant, which had created counterfeit banknotes with a total face value over $1,000,000. In the spring of 2008, a batch of counterfeit $100 appeared in the Greater Toronto Area. Reaching a peak distribution there in May, similar forgeries were later found in the Montreal area, with its peak distribution in June. In 2004, Canada had a counterfeit ratio of 470 parts per million, which decreased to 133 parts per million by 2007. The banknotes in the series with the holographic metallic stripe were counterfeited by "well-organized, well-financed groups" having the resources and time to replicate the security features. The $5 and $10 denominations released earlier, lacking the metallic stripe and other security features, were a common target of counterfeiters. One of the largest counterfeit operations in Canada was discovered in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
, which by the time of its dismantling in 2006 had released counterfeit $10, $20, $50 and $100 banknotes with a face value over $9 million. The operation was also beginning production of counterfeit United States Federal Reserve Notes and traded in fraudulent
payment card Payment cards are part of a payment system issued by financial institutions, such as a bank, to a customer that enables its owner (the cardholder) to access the funds in the customer's designated bank accounts, or through a credit account and ...
s and identity documents. During the peak counterfeiting period in 2004, the counterfeit ratio for $10 banknotes was 1,292 parts per million, and the ratio for the $20 banknotes was 601 parts per million. All banknotes in this series are now considered unfit for circulation due to their lacking any modern security features, such as a metallic stripe. Financial institutions must return the banknotes to the Bank of Canada, which will destroy them. Individuals may keep the banknotes indefinitely.


Reception

The series was launched in January 2001 when the Bank of Canada issued the $10 banknote at a launch event in Ottawa. It also made public presentations to familiarize Canadians with the new banknotes and security features. The Currency Museum developed a
travelling exhibition A travelling exhibition, also referred to as a "travelling exhibit" or a "touring exhibition", is a type of exhibition that is presented at more than one venue. Temporary exhibitions can bring together objects that might be dispersed among sever ...
titled ''The Colour of Your Money'' that was launched on the same day.


Collecting

When the $10 banknote was first issued, the Bank of Canada also announced a
numismatics Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also includ ...
set for notaphilists titled ''Lasting Impressions''. This set contained two uncirculated $10 banknotes, one from this series and the other from the Birds of Canada series, with matching serial numbers. In 2002, a similar set with the same title was issued for the $5 banknote. Both were released in an embossed folder also containing an information booklet with the history of the respective denomination and the features of each banknote.


Legacy

In ''The Art and Design of Canadian Bank Notes'', the Bank of Canada refers to the Canadian Journey Series as "the most distinctly Canadian series of notes ever produced by the Bank". It was also the first Canadian banknote series to be printed on paper sourced from a non-domestic supplier, as no Canadian company could produce the requested substrate at the time. The $20 banknote was awarded the 2004 Bank Note of the Year by the International Bank Note Society, the inaugural year for the award. Amongst the qualities cited for the award were "probably the finest portrait of the mature monarch to appear on any bank note" and "well-balanced design, strong images, and advanced security features". The accessibility features were "very well received within the blind and visually impaired community" of over 100,000 Canadians. A study was conducted in 2007 to assess the impact of the accessibility features in preparation for development of the next series of banknotes, the
Frontier Series The Frontier series is the seventh series of banknotes of the Canadian dollar released by the Bank of Canada, first circulated in 2011. The polymer banknotes were designed for increased durability and to incorporate more security features ove ...
. It found that the tactile feature was most useful to those with complete of functional blindness, but it was less useful for older individuals (with decreased tactile sensitivity) and the feature could not be detected on some banknotes owing to physical wear from use. Some individuals would mitigate this problem by requesting only new banknotes during financial transactions. Numeral size and the more vivid colours on the banknotes was a more useful feature for individuals with partial vision. The overall impact on quality of life for visually impaired individuals was moderate. The only regression in accessibility compared to the Birds of Canada series was that the Canadian Journey Series banknotes could only be read from one end in the banknote reader, whereas both ends could be read in the Birds of Canada Series. The Bank of Canada's cost for distributing banknote readers to visually impaired Canadians is about $150,000 per year. With the development and release of this series, the Bank of Canada also implemented a continuous research and development program representing a "more proactive approach" toward counterfeiting and also integrated a monitoring program to assess "confidence levels and awareness" of banknote security features. When released, the $10 banknote drew complaints from Canadians who thought the excerpt from "In Flanders Field" was incorrectly quoted. It was based on a common misconception about the poem. Some Canadians have modified the $5 banknotes by drawing over the portrait of Wilfrid Laurier to make it appear as the character Spock (as portrayed by
Leonard Nimoy Leonard Simon Nimoy (; March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor, famed for playing Spock in the '' Star Trek'' franchise for almost 50 years. This includes originating Spock in the original ''Star Trek'' series in 1966, th ...
) from the fictional universe of '' Star Trek'', or as the character
Severus Snape Severus Snape is a fictional character in J. K. Rowling's ''Harry Potter'' series. He is an exceptionally skilled wizard whose sarcastic, controlled exterior conceals deep emotions and anguish. A Professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraf ...
(as portrayed by
Alan Rickman Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman (21 February 1946 â€“ 14 January 2016) was an English actor and director. Known for his deep, languid voice, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and became a member of the Royal Shakespe ...
) from the ''Harry Potter'' film series.


Notes


References

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External links


Canadian Journey
at the Bank of Canada
2001–2004 Series, Canadian Journey
of Bank of Canada archive at Collections Canada {{Canadian currency and coinage Banknotes of Canada Financial history of Canada Portraits on banknotes