2018 Canadian banknote series


The eighth series of banknotes of the Canadian dollar was first released by the Bank of Canada in 2018. Like the preceding 2011 Frontier series, the 2018 series consists of polymer banknotes designed for increased durability and to incorporate more security features. It is the first series issued by the Bank of Canada printed in a vertical configuration.
The banknotes were designed by the Canadian Bank Note Company, which also prints the banknotes. The first note, the $10 bill featuring Viola Desmond, was revealed on International Women's Day, March 8, 2018, and was released to the public on November 19, 2018. Future notes will come at a slower pace than previous series to allow technological innovations to be worked into their design as time goes on.
In January 2020, the Bank of Canada confirmed it would begin soliciting suggestions for the historic Canadian who would replace Wilfrid Laurier on the $5 note.

$10 note

The $10 note is purple, and the obverse features a portrait of Viola Desmond, a Black Nova Scotian businesswoman who challenged racial segregation at a film theatre in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, in 1946. The background of the portrait is a colourful rendition of the street grid of Halifax, Nova Scotia, including the waterfront, Citadel, and Street, where Desmond's Studio of Beauty Culture was located. Foil features on the note face include both the Flag and Coat of Arms of Canada. This is the first Canadian banknote to feature neither a prime minister nor a member of the royal family in its solo portrait, and the first to feature a solo female Canadian other than the Queen.
The reverse features the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Part of the background pattern mirrors the museum's interior architecture and its ramps connecting multiple levels. A foil eagle feather is prominent, symbolizing ideals such as truth, power and freedom. A quotation from section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms appears in both English and French.
The foil window at the base of the note includes an iridescent rendering of the Library of Parliament's vaulted dome ceiling, which can be seen from both sides of the note.
In 2019, the International Bank Note Society awarded the design the top prize in its annual banknote design competition. It won against new currency designs from Switzerland, Norway, Russia and the Solomon Islands.