What to know
- The new $20 bill will be the first Canadian banknote to feature King Charles III and is expected to enter circulation in late February 2027.
- The note will have a vertical design, following the $10 bill featuring civil rights pioneer Viola Desmond.
- The back of the bill will feature the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France, honouring Canadians who served in the First World War.
- The design includes floral emblems representing all 13 Canadian provinces and territories, as well as plants significant to Indigenous peoples.
- The polymer note will include new security features, including a purple security stripe with moving images, transparent areas and raised ink to help Canadians identify genuine bills and prevent counterfeiting.
Four years after being crowned, King Charles III is finally about to get his first Canadian dollar bill.
The Bank of Canada has just announced a new vertical $20 bill, which will be the first to feature the King. This marks the first time in 70 years that a new monarch will appear in the $20 bill.
According to the bank, Canadians can expect to see the new note in circulation starting late February 2027.
Breaking the traditional horizontal pattern, the new $20 bill will be presented in a vertical format, with a central portrait of the King circled by florals and the traditional maple leaves. The back of the note will feature the Canadian National Vimy Memorial, a building located in France that pays tribute to Canadians who served in World War I.
In addition, the note features floral emblems that represent the 13 Canadian provinces and territories, which is visible from both sides. The design was also a collaboration with the Bank of Canada’s Indigenous Advisory Circle, and features other plants that hold significance to Indigenous peoples.
The $20 bill is the second one to be in a vertical format, with the first being the $10 note featuring civil rights pioneer Viola Desmond, which has been in circulation since 2018.
“The note’s advanced and dynamic security features are combined with images that reflect Canada’s beauty and its history. I hope it evokes pride in Canada and confidence in its bank notes,” Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said in a news release.
New bill includes advanced security features
The new design is not the only novelty in the $20 bill, as government officials said the new note will be equipped with advanced security features that have never been used in Canadian currency before, which make it harder to duplicate.
The note is made off a single piece of polymeter, including a few transparent areas. This material is a flexible type of plastic which makes it harder to damage the note.
The bill includes a purple security stripe, filled with features that spin and change when the note is moved. The stripe features a 3D-looking bubble that magnifies the 20s, a maple leaf that seems to pulse, and a poppy flower with bands that spin in the petals.
In addition, handlers can feel raised ink if they touch the King’s image, the word “CANADA” on top, and the large number on the top left corner.
Finally, the golden maple leaf on the back of the bill contains inner leaves and pulse when moved.
All of these features make it harder to create counterfeit versions of the bills, making it easier to authenticate legitimate notes.
Current bill features late Queen Elizabeth II
The current $20 bill has been in circulation since 2004. It features a portrait of late Queen Elizabeth II based on a photograph by Ian Jones and commissioned by the Bank of Canada.
The Canadian National Vimy Memorial featured on the new note also appears in the back of the current note.
A stripe in the bill features the Peace Tower, which was the last section of the Centre Block of Parliament, named to honour Canadians who died during World War I.
