By Rosalind Russell – A Canadian icon will appear on our new $5 Canadian 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.
He was the youngest person to be named a Companion of the Order of Canada before he died in 1981 when his cancer spread to his lungs.
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.”
“Through his efforts, the 22-year-old showed Canadians the difference that an ordinary person could make through sheer willpower and determination,” reads a passage from the economic update.
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.
Photo: Canadian Mint
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