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The 180

SURVEY: Time to take political faces off our money?

Are you sick of seeing Laurier on your money? Or Macdonald? Would Leonard or Munro make a difference? We speak to an historian who wants to change the face of Canadian money.
CBC News ·
Queen Elizabeth II is seen on a Canadian twenty dollar bill arranged for a photograph in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2013. Canada�s dollar traded at almost the weakest level in eight months versus its U.S. counterpart amid political turmoil in Europe and before data this week that may show the nation�s economy stalled. Photographer: Pawel Dwulit/Bloomberg (Pawel Dwulit/Bloomberg)
The 1807:21Taking political faces off our money

Got change for a Bieber? Can you lend me a Cohen? Aside from the Queen, all of the faces on our paper money belong to Canadian politicians. That might say a lot about our political history, but does it represent who we are now? Writer and historian John Boyko says if we want to represent the Canadian identity on our cash, instead of politicians we should put artists on our bills. 

He argues that politicians are by their very nature divisive figures, and notes the recent controversy surrounding the marking of the bicentennial of Sir John A. Macdonald's birth. 

"Perhaps a better representation of the nation would not be the prime ministers, but the artists, for it is the artists who I think really celebrate who we are."

Boyko points to examples from music and literature, such as Leonard Cohen, Margaret Atwood and Stan Rogers as possible contenders.

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