The Canadian ten-dollar note is one of the most common

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 is ...

. The current $10 note is purple, and the obverse features a portrait of Viola Desmond, a Black Nova Scotian businesswoman who challenged

racial segregation Racial segregation is the separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Segregation can involve the spatial separation of the races, and mandatory use of different institutions, ...

at a film theatre in

New Glasgow, Nova Scotia New Glasgow is a town in Pictou County, in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It is situated on the banks of the East River of Pictou, which flows into Pictou Harbour, a sub-basin of the Northumberland Strait. The town's population was 9,471 ...

, in 1946. The background of the portrait is a colourful rendition of the street grid of

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

, including the waterfront,

Citadel A citadel is the most fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of ''city'', meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. ...

and Gottingen Street, where Desmond's Studio of Beauty Culture was located. Foil features on the note face include both the

Flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and fla ...

and

Coat of Arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

of Canada. This is the first Canadian banknote to feature neither a prime minister nor a royal in its solo portrait, and the first to feature a solo female Canadian other than

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

. The reverse features the

Canadian Museum for Human Rights The Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR; ) is a Canadian Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation and List of national museums, national museum located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, adjacent to The Forks, Winnipeg, The Forks. The purpose of the ...

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

. Part of the background pattern mirrors the museum's interior architecture and its ramps connecting multiple levels. A foil eagle feather is prominent, symbolizing ideals such as truth, power and freedom. A quotation from

section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms Section 15 of the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' contains guaranteed Social equality, equality rights. As part of the Constitution of Canada, the section prohibits certain forms of discrimination perpetrated by the governments of Can ...

appears in both English and French. The foil window at the base of the note includes an iridescent rendering of the

Library of Parliament The Library of Parliament () 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 Ottawa, Ontario. The library survived th ...

's vaulted dome ceiling, which can be seen from both sides of the note. The vertical $10 note entered circulation on November 19, 2018.

Notes

References

Unannotated references

* http://www.bankofcanada.ca/banknotes/banknote150/

External links

Bank of Canada's banknote sitePolymer – Bank of Canada2018 Vertical 10 dollar bill - 360 degree view
{{Canadian currency and coinage 10 Ten-base-unit banknotes Cultural depictions of John A. Macdonald Cultural depictions of Canadian people