It was recently announced that Viola Desmond will be the first Canadian woman featured on a bank note!
It’s my privilege to announce that Viola Desmond will be the first Canadian woman on a bank note. #bankNOTEable pic.twitter.com/jAOceW2ETX
— Bill Morneau (@Bill_Morneau) December 8, 2016
Who is she, you ask? Viola Desmond was a black businesswoman who challenged racial segregation at a film theatre in Nova Scotia in the 1940s. She refused to leave a whites only area of the theatre, and was unjustly convicted of a tax violation used to enforce segregation. Viola’s case is one of the incidents of racial discrimination in Canadian history that helped start the modern civil rights movement in Canada.
Viola will be the first woman in history, other than Queen Elizabeth II to be pictured on currency. Expected in late 2018, you will see Viola featured on a new $10 bill.
This exciting news got us thinking! What if a Canadian artist was to be featured on money? More specifically, a female musician! And what if it was up to you to decide? Tell us which artist you’d vote to be on the next Canadian bill:
If you could pick, which female artist would you feature on the next Canadian $ note? @alessiacara @lights @jannarden @serenaryder
— Universal Music CA (@umusic) December 12, 2016
Read more about Viola Desmond chosen as the bank NOTE-able woman to be featured on new $10 bank note here.