OTTAWA — Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz is appointing a seven-member advisory council to develop a short list of Canadian women who could appear on the next series of bank notes.
The bank has already issued an open call for nominations, which runs to April 15 and has had more than 18,000 submissions.
Poloz says the council will develop a list of three to five candidates and he and Finance Minister Bill Morneau will discuss the names, with Morneau making the final decision.
The council members are: writer Gurjinder Basran; Michael Redhead Champagne, youth activist and founder of AYO! (Aboriginal Youth Opportunities); Margaret Conrad, professor emerita, University of New Brunswick; Francine Descarries, sociology professor, Universite du Quebec a Montreal; Perdita Felicien, world champion hurdler; Merna Forster, historian and author; Dominic Giroux, president and vice-chancellor, Laurentian University.
Poloz and Carolyn Wilkins, senior deputy governor, are making the announcement at Roberta Bondar Public School in Ottawa, where students from that school and from Ecole elementaire publique Gabrielle-Roy are showcasing art featuring inspirational women.
"It’s great to see women from different times and places inspiring children today," Poloz said. "We hope that this new bank note will inspire all girls and boys to see themselves as notable—perhaps even one day 'bank-notable' —contributors to Canada."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced last month that a woman would be featured on the next issue of bank notes due out in 2018.
