The face of the controversial Glasgow-born founder of Canada, John Macdonald, is to be removed from the country’s $10 note, making way for civil rights activist Viola Desmond in what the central bank has described as a celebration of social justice and human rights.
It’s widely accepted that Mr Macdonald – whose name is on dozens of buildings and roads across Canada – was racist towards the country’s indigenous population.
One of his policies involved forcing more than 100,000 school children into an educational programme that attempted to remove all traces of their heritage. A national commission recently declared that programme to be an attempt at “cultural genocide”.
He’s been featured on the $10 note since 1971.
The new note, expected to be introduced late next year, will celebrate Ms Desmond, who refused to leave the whites-only section of a theatre in Nova Scotia, in 1946 – a story that resulted in a milestone human rights case in Canada.
“The legal challenge sparked by Desmond touched a nerve within the Black community and added to the growing consciousness regarding racial discrimination in Nova Scotia,” the Bank of Canada said on its website. “Her case was an inspiration for change and part of a wider set of efforts toward racial equality across the country.”
“Though the events at the Roseland Theatre are now 70 years behind us, Desmond’s struggle for social justice and her singular act of courage continue to resonate with Canadians,” it added.
Ms Desmond was chosen from a shortlist of five female Canadians, including poet E Pauline Johnson, engineer Elizabeth MacGill, athlete Fanny Rosenfeld and suffragette and activist Idola Saint-Jean.
The Bank said that Mr Macdonald would continue to be honoured on higher denomination notes, when they are redesigned for the next series.
The debate around whether Mr Macdonald’s legacy should be honoured has been raging for some time and the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario in August passed a motion calling on boards to strip his name from nine schools in the province.
“Our mandate is to support positive learning environments; safe and healthy schools for all of our students. What will our students understand about history if they are asked to learn in a school named after a major figure in the history of colonisation and residential schools?” the federation’s president, Sam Hammond, said.
“In the spirit of truth and reconciliation, we are asking school boards to consider changing the names of these buildings in recognition of the powerful impact our learning environments have on how our students see themselves,” he added.
Canada is also expected to introduce a new $5 note in the coming years. The new $20, $50 and $100 note will follow every two to three years after that.
