12/17/2024
Terry Fox has been selected to appear on the next $5 bank note.
The federal government made the revelation in its fall economic statement on Monday.
Fox is a Canadian icon who campaigned for cancer research by running his Marathon of Hope in 1980.
An amputee himself after losing his leg to cancer, Fox’s marathon raised more than $24 million dollars — $1 for every Canadian at the time.
The annual fundraising run in his name has raised more than $850 million for cancer research.
In 2020 the Bank of Canada held a six-week public consultation, and Fox was among eight “iconic Canadians” who were shortlisted from more than 600 nominations.
The fall economic statement says Fox’s addition to the $5 bill is “to inspire more Canadians to give $5 to the cause that Terry Fox championed.”
Fox will replace Sir Wilfrid Laurier, who will move from the $5 bill to the $50 note. It’s unclear what will come of William Lyon Mackenzie King who is currently on the $50 bill.
The new $5 bank notes will be released on Monday
