OTTAWA — When the next series of Canadian bank notes rolls off the presses in 2018, one of them will, for the first time ever, bear the portrait of a woman other than the Queen — and nominations are open now.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau marked International Women's Day on Tuesday by launching the search for a new face for the currency.
"I am pleased to announce today, right here, that a Canadian woman will be featured on the very first of the next series of bills expected in 2018," Trudeau told a news conference marking the occasion.
Hazel McCallion, the firebrand political legend who served for 36 years as mayor of Mississauga, Ont., was on hand for the announcement.
"Finally, the Bank of Canada and the government has recognized it is time for a woman to be on," McCallion said. "I've been helping the organization to do it."
The bank is asking the public to nominate women deserving of the recognition, provided they meet the criteria. Submissions can be made on the bank's website between now and April 15.
The nominee must be a Canadian woman who demonstrated outstanding leadership, achievement or distinction in any field, benefiting the people of Canada, or in the service of Canada.
Anne of Green Gables is out, because no fictional characters are allowed. And nominees must have been dead for at least 25 years.
An independent advisory council of eminent academic, cultural and thought leaders will review the submissions and, after talking to experts and more consultation with the public, will provide a short list of candidates to the finance minister.
Morneau pointed out that, over the country's near-150 years, women have been largely unrepresented on the currency, except for the Queen. It's time for change, he said.
"I'd invite all Canadians, male and female, to have their say," he said.
The bank note announcement came as the Royal Canadian Mint unveiled a new $1 coin commemorating the 100 years since women first gained the right to vote in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta provincial elections.
Morneau called the coin "a reminder that equality endures as a fundamental value of Canadian society."
The mint plans to issue five million of the new dollars.
The coin was designed by artist Laurie McGaw. The reverse features a 1916-era depiction of woman casting a ballot as her child looks on. It's inscribed: "Women's right to vote, Droit de vote des femmes" with the dates 1916-2016.
The NDP welcomed the plan for the new bill.
"New Democrats have been fighting to diversify our bank notes and make them reflective of Canadians for years," said MP Sheila Malcolmson, the party critic for the status of women.
Since the Bank of Canada began issuing notes in 1935, the Queen and a couple of members of the 1930s Royal Family have been the only women featured.
The Queen first appeared on a Canadian bank note in 1935 when, as an eight-year-old princess, she was featured on the $20 bill — the same denomination on which she is currently featured.
A LIST OF WOMEN WHO COULD BE ON CANADIAN CURRENCY
OTTAWA — A look at five women who could be candidates to be on Canadian currency:
Nellie McClung (1873 to 1953)
Political activist Nellie McClung was one of the strongest voices of the women's suffrage movement across Canada. She helped stage a mock parliament in Manitoba in 1914, that satirized what people claimed were the dangers of allowing women to vote and helping win support for the campaign.
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Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874 to 1942)
Author Lucy Maud Montgomery has enchanted readers the world over with her "Anne of Green Gables" books, which chronicle the adventures of a red-headed orphan on Prince Edward Island. The prolific writer's works have been translated into about 20 languages.
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Anges MacPhail (1890 to 1954)
Anges MacPhail was elected Canada's first female member of Parliament in 1921 - the first election where Canadian women were allowed to cast ballots. The staunch human rights champion fought for prison reform, old-age pension and women's rights throughout her time in politics.
Mary Pickford (1892 to 1979)
She may have been known as America's Sweetheart, but legendary film actress Mary Pickford was actually Canadian. The talented actress was also a shrewd business woman and, at 24-years-old, became the first woman in Hollywood to earn $1 million a year.
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Emily Carr (1871 to 1945)
Group of Seven member Emily Carr's modernist landscape paintings have made her one of Canada's best-known artists. Her work portrays the vast beauty of British Columbia, with a heavy influence from the First Nations villages, and is showcased in galleries and museums around the globe.
B.C. AUTHOR 'THRILLED' HISTORIC CANADIAN WOMAN WILL SOON APPEAR ON BANK NOTES
The portrait of an iconic Canadian woman is set to appear on a new series of bank notes, and a British Columbia historian says it's about time.
Merna Forster has been writing letters to politicians and Bank of Canada governors for years saying that it is unacceptable not to have a single bill featuring the image of a female figure from the country's history.
Her campaign includes an online petition launched in 2013, which has since collected more than 73,000 signatures, and an interactive website that allows people to suggest which woman they would like to see on a bank note.
The Queen is currently the only woman featured on Canadian currency and Forster says she was thrilled to hear the government announce that will change in 2018.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday that the search is on to determine which historic woman should be featured on a new series of bank notes.
Forster, a Victoria-based author of two books on Canadian heroines, said she was in a state of disbelief.
"I must admit that I was getting discouraged, but I knew it was important and I couldn't give up," she said from Victoria.
Still, Forster never imagined the fight to memorialize Canadian women on the country's money would take this long.
"It's just not right," she said. "Women hold up half the sky. Why don't they hold up half the bank notes?"
Other countries, including Australia, Japan and Colombia, have long had famous females on the currency, she said.
The Bank of Canada is now asking the public to nominate women deserving of the recognition through the bank's website.
Each nominee must be a Canadian woman who demonstrated outstanding leadership, achievement or distinction in any field, benefiting the people of Canada, or in the service of Canada.
They cannot be fictional, and must have been dead for at least 25 years.
Picking a single woman will be the hardest part, Forster said. Over the years, she has received more than 400 suggestions, including everyone from suffragette Nellie McClung to singer Buffy Sainte-Marie.
Personally, Forster doesn't know who she'd choose, but she said she's hoping to see someone who represents Canada's diversity.
