March 8, 2016 Bank of Canada Opens “Women on Banknotes” Consultation

On March 8, 2016, the Bank of Canada opened its "Women on Banknotes" public consultation, inviting Canadians to nominate an iconic Canadian woman for regularly circulating currency. The initiative responded to years of public pressure, including nearly 48,000 petition signatures demanding more inclusive representation. Over five weeks, you'd see Canadians submit more than 26,300 nominations, ultimately leading to Viola Desmond's historic selection. There's much more to this story worth uncovering.

Key Takeaways

• On March 8, 2016, the Bank of Canada launched a public consultation to select an iconic Canadian woman for circulating banknotes.
• The initiative responded to growing public pressure, including a petition that gathered nearly 48,000 signatures before the consultation opened.
• Finance Minister Bill Morneau issued a formal policy response in March 2016, signaling the government's commitment to inclusive currency representation.
• The nominations period ran from March 8 to April 15, 2016, receiving over 26,300 submissions, with 461 meeting qualifying criteria.
• Viola Desmond was ultimately selected on December 8, 2016, becoming the first Canadian woman on a regularly circulating banknote.

Why Did Canada Launch the Women on Banknotes Consultation?

In March 2016, the Bank of Canada launched a public consultation to select an iconic Canadian woman for its next series of regularly circulating bank notes, responding to years of growing public pressure for more inclusive currency representation. Public awareness had been building since 2014, when a petition calling for women from Canadian history on bank notes gathered nearly 48,000 signatures, eventually growing to over 73,000. Finance Minister Bill Morneau offered a formal policy response in March 2016, signaling the government's commitment to change.

The Bank framed the consultation around its established bank note design principles, ensuring the process remained transparent and structured. You can trace the initiative directly to sustained public advocacy finally compelling both the government and the Bank to act.

What Did the Selection Criteria for Women on Banknotes Actually Require?

To qualify for consideration, a nominee had to meet several specific standards that the Bank of Canada established upfront. She'd to be Canadian by birth or naturalization, deceased for at least 25 years, and recognized for outstanding leadership, achievement, or distinction that benefited Canada. Fictional characters weren't eligible, which settled any eligibility debate early in the process.

The Advisory Council added deeper operating principles, looking for women who'd broken barriers, inspired others, driven significant change, and left a lasting legacy. They also evaluated each nominee within her historical context, meaning you couldn't judge a woman's contributions by today's standards alone. These layered criteria guaranteed the process moved beyond simple popularity and toward a genuinely meaningful selection that reflected Canada's diverse history and values. Much like how country-specific calendars tailor name day lookups to national traditions, the Bank of Canada's framework was deliberately shaped around Canada's own cultural context and history.

How Did the Bank of Canada Collect Over 26,000 Nominations?

The Bank of Canada opened up its nominations process on 8 March 2016 and kept it running until 15 April 2016, giving Canadians just over five weeks to submit their picks.

Through social media and grassroots outreach, the response was remarkable. Here's what the process delivered:

• 26,300+ nominations submitted by Canadians nationwide
• 461 nominees met the qualifying criteria
• Both representative surveys and focus group testing supported the process
• Results fed directly into the Advisory Council's review

You could nominate any woman who met the established criteria, and the volume of participation showed genuine public investment in the outcome.

The Bank's open call turned what could've been a quiet institutional exercise into a wide, citizen-driven conversation about whose legacy deserved a place on Canadian currency. The launch date of March 8 is globally recognized as a day of empowerment honoring women's pursuit of equality, leadership, and progress, making it a deliberate and symbolic choice for the Bank of Canada to begin its public consultation.

How Did the Advisory Council Narrow 461 Women on Banknotes Nominees to Five?

Once the Bank of Canada had 461 qualifying nominees in hand, an independent Advisory Council took over and worked through them using a clear set of operating principles.

Their selection methodology required each woman to have broken barriers, inspired others, driven significant change, and left a lasting legacy. The Council's advisory deliberations also prioritized Canada's diversity and made certain the candidates would resonate broadly with Canadians. They evaluated each nominee within the historical context of her lifetime, avoiding presentism in their judgments.

From the full pool of 461, the Council first produced a long list of 12 women. They then applied the same rigorous criteria to narrow that group to a short list of five, who were forwarded for the final decision. Those interested in exploring similar historical and political facts by category can use an online fact finder tool to quickly surface key details about notable figures and events.

Why Was Viola Desmond Chosen for the Women on Banknotes $10 Note?

After weeks of deliberation, the independent Advisory Council forwarded a short list of five women to the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the Bank of Canada, who jointly announced Viola Desmond as their selection on 8 December 2016.

Desmond embodied the Advisory Council's core criteria through her:

• Civil rights defiance in 1946, when she refused to leave a whites-only theatre section in Nova Scotia
• Entrepreneurial spirit as a businesswoman who built her own beauty school and product line
• Barrier-breaking leadership that inspired future generations of Canadians
• A lasting legacy that resonated broadly across Canada's diverse population

Her selection marked a historic milestone, making her the first Canadian woman to appear on a regularly circulating Canadian bank note — the new vertical $10 note.