# Canada to move to plastic banknotes **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 4, 2010, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-to-move-to-plastic-banknotes/531344 "2010-03-04T23:21:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![dhkendall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9adbd/32.png) [@dhkendall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhkendall)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-to-move-to-plastic-banknotes/531344/41 "2010-03-08T18:40:42Z")
Woah! How come I hadn’t heard thing one about this! The whole country was apparently abuzz about the changes in the national anthem (dropped, thankfully), but I had to learn about the money thing from the freakin’ Dope? (errr, no offense intended, there … ) (and yes, I also realize that because of my anthem studies I probably am more trained to notice anthem news than money news, but I still calls em as I sees em.) ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-to-move-to-plastic-banknotes/531344/42 "2010-03-08T19:09:18Z")
Will the window on the $5 bill look like a hockey goal with a goalie standing in front of it? Be kind of interesting to see the clear polymer window worked into the design in such a way, I think. (Note to non-Canadians: Our $5 bill has a picture of children playing hockey on a frozen pond on the back of the bill.) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-to-move-to-plastic-banknotes/531344/43 "2010-03-08T19:16:52Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Ont **o** rio is a small town in northern Saskatewan. It has a gas station and three houses, plus the ruins of a general store. It was the centre of a failed farming experiment by Icelanders, most of whom subsequently left, complaining of the cold. Its town mascot is the tundra mosquito (Aedes gigasangivoris), which has been known to suck a chihuahua dry in under two minutes. What’s wrong with just going to Uranium City? Too busy? Too modern? ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-to-move-to-plastic-banknotes/531344/44 "2010-03-08T19:25:53Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Will the window on the $5 bill look like a hockey goal with a goalie standing in front of it? Be kind of interesting to see the clear polymer window worked into the design in such a way, I think. Yes, it should be possible to do that, with the goalie as a nontransparent design inside a transparent goal. The only problem is that the design of the window is part of the design of both sides of the note. Could you have a picture of the Queen of Canada in hockey gear trying to hit the puck past the goalie? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-to-move-to-plastic-banknotes/531344/45 "2010-03-08T19:37:15Z")
> [@dhkendall](#): > > Woah! > > How come I hadn’t heard thing one about this! The whole country was apparently abuzz about the changes in the national anthem (dropped, thankfully), but I had to learn about the money thing from the freakin’ Dope?\ My response to the anthem kerfuffle was, “NO! NOT AGAIN!” I don’t mind plastic money. Physical money is so quaint and old-fashioned, anyway. 🙂 (I think I read somewhere that Canadians are leading the pack in using emoney.) ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-to-move-to-plastic-banknotes/531344/46 "2010-03-08T20:16:36Z")
The problem is a plastic banknote can’t be used as sandpaper to clean your spark plug and save your life. ---
**Author:** ![dhkendall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9adbd/32.png) [@dhkendall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhkendall)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-to-move-to-plastic-banknotes/531344/47 "2010-03-08T20:34:12Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > Yes, it should be possible to do that, with the goalie as a nontransparent design inside a transparent goal. The only problem is that the design of the window is part of the design of both sides of the note. Could you have a picture of the Queen of Canada in hockey gear trying to hit the puck past the goalie? Actually, Sir Wilfrid Laurier is on the Canadian $5 (commonly called the five-hole because of the hockey scene on the back. 😉 ) > [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > I don’t mind plastic money. Physical money is so quaint and old-fashioned, anyway. 🙂 (I think I read somewhere that Canadians are leading the pack in using emoney.) I rarely, if ever, carry money on me at all, do everything by debit card. Just the other day a homeless guy came up to me asking for “40 cents for coffee”. I told him I have no money on me. He said “but I just need 40 cents”. I told him “but I have _no_ money on me!” Hard to understand especially when, in his words, I “look like a dentist”. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Rodd\_Hill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ab097/32.png) [@Rodd\_Hill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodd_Hill)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2010, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-to-move-to-plastic-banknotes/531344/48 "2010-03-08T23:36:35Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > Yes, it should be possible to do that, with the goalie as a nontransparent design inside a transparent goal. The only problem is that the design of the window is part of the design of both sides of the note. Could you have a picture of the Queen of Canada in hockey gear trying to hit the puck past the goalie? “The five hole, Your Majesty, THE FIVE HOLE!” ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-to-move-to-plastic-banknotes/531344/49 "2010-03-09T00:07:00Z")
I just thought of a US situation where polymer banknotes would have been an improvement. About five years ago, we drove down from Montréal to Okemo, Vermont. We stopped at a rest area along the Interstate to discover vending machines that took banknotes (as is usual in the US, but very rare in Canada). I had a couple of grubby, crumpled, floppy, and generally-wretched US $1 notes that I tried to get the vending machines to accept. After a lot of struggle, one machine finally accepted one note and I got my drink. I can’t help thinking that polymer notes would hold up better in that kind of situation. Of course, in Canada, we got around that problem by switching to high-value ($1 and $2) coins. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2011, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-to-move-to-plastic-banknotes/531344/50 "2011-03-11T13:59:45Z")
New $100 in November. New $50 in March 2012. New $20, $10, and $5 in 2013. The designs haven’t been revealed yet. Old notes will remain legal, but will be taken in by the banks. [Link from the Bank of Canada](http://www.bankofcanada.ca/en/press/2011/pr100311.html). ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2011, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-to-move-to-plastic-banknotes/531344/51 "2011-03-11T16:50:58Z")
In other words, it’ll be two years before I can see one. Why such a delay between the high notes and the low notes? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2011, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-to-move-to-plastic-banknotes/531344/52 "2011-03-11T17:17:38Z")
Maybe they need to get the bugs out before they go to the twenty? ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2011, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-to-move-to-plastic-banknotes/531344/53 "2011-03-11T17:46:17Z")
I must say, i’m still rather amazed at how few countries are using polymer banknotes. We had them in regular circulation in Australia in the early 1990s. I think they’re great. Not sure what “bugs” there would be, **Sunspace**. This isn’t exactly cutting-edge technology anymore. I’d be very surprised if a country as wealthy and advanced as Canada can’t get a polymer banknote release right. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2011, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-to-move-to-plastic-banknotes/531344/54 "2011-03-11T22:52:13Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > I must say, i’m still rather amazed at how few countries are using polymer banknotes. We had them in regular circulation in Australia in the early 1990s. I think they’re great. > > Not sure what “bugs” there would be, **Sunspace**. This isn’t exactly cutting-edge technology anymore. I’d be very surprised if a country as wealthy and advanced as Canada can’t get a polymer banknote release right. Now that you mention it, I seem to recall reading that the two Canadian banknote printers have printed polymer notes for other countries. I guess it’s just that the smaller notes are the workhorse of the system, and probably more of them are used than fifties or hundreds, so they may need more time to print them. But I can still pay my rent in polymer come November… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-to-move-to-plastic-banknotes/531344/55 "2011-03-16T02:59:59Z")
First gay marriage, and now soon to be poly! Yay Canada! ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-to-move-to-plastic-banknotes/531344/56 "2011-03-16T03:08:29Z")
Og help me, I actually dreamed about them last night. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-to-move-to-plastic-banknotes/531344/57 "2011-03-16T03:32:17Z")
That’s seriously kinky. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-to-move-to-plastic-banknotes/531344/58 "2011-03-16T03:40:27Z")
Yeah, I was (gasp) …preparing to pay the rent. ---
**Author:** ![TravisFromOR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cc9497/32.png) [@TravisFromOR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TravisFromOR)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-to-move-to-plastic-banknotes/531344/59 "2011-03-16T03:44:54Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > First gay marriage, and now soon to be poly! Yay Canada! New WBC protest: God Hates Polymers!!! ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-to-move-to-plastic-banknotes/531344/60 "2011-03-16T04:59:24Z")
[Continuation thread, now that details have been announced.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=600298) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-to-move-to-plastic-banknotes/531344.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-to-move-to-plastic-banknotes/531344.md?page=4)