Wednesday March 9, 2016
Marking International Women’s Day, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced yesterday that in 2018, Canada will include the face of a Canadian woman on one of our banknotes, a woman who isn’t Queen Elizabeth. There are a couple things that will disqualify someone from appearing on our money – a fictional character, and being alive for the last 25 years. So, sorry, Anne of Green Gables, you’re not the real deal. Sorry Margaret Atwood, Celine Dion, Joni Mitchell, Pamela Anderson, Karen Kain, Sheila Copps, and Kathleen Wynne. Sorry Ellen Fairclough and Jane Jacobs, you’ve died too soon, and while Kim Campbell might make an appearance on a future bill, she’s long from being dead. So here it is, in my estimation, the short list that includes the most likely woman to be featured on a forthcoming Canadian banknote. If I’m missing someone, add it below.
Laura Secord (1775-1868)
Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942)
Emily Carr (1871-1945)
Nellie McClung (1873-1951)
Agnes Macphail (1890-1954)
Mary Pickford (1892-1979)
Judy LaMarsh (1924-1980)
Margaret Laurence (1926-1987)
Lotta Hitschmanova (1909-1990)
Barbara Frum (1937-1992)