Canadian Banknotes 5 Dollars banknote 1986 Wilfrid Laurier
Bank of Canada - Banque du Canada
The obverse of the blue $5 banknote included a rendering of Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier. The portrait was engraved by Yves Baril, and to its right is a vignette of the Centre Block as it appeared during Laurier's premiership flying the Canadian Red Ensign, the flag of Canada at the time. The Coat of Arms of Canada is on top. Denomination big in numeral central left and top right.
The bird on the reverse is the Belted Kingfisher sitting on a branch in the wetlands and stylized background sky depicting the word “CANADA”. Denominations are bottom right and top left.
The banknote was introduced on 28 April 1986 and withdrawn on 27 March 2002.
Printer: Canadian Bank Note Company Limited, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Signatures: Governor of the Bank of Canada - John Crow; Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada - Gordon George Thiessen.
Canada banknotes - Canada paper money
Birds of Canada series
Birds of Canada are banknotes of the Canadian dollar first circulated by the Bank of Canada in 1986 to replace the Scenes of Canada series. Each note features a bird indigenous to Canada in its design. The banknotes weigh 1 gram with dimensions of 152.40 by 69.85 millimetres (6.00 by 2.75 in). It was succeeded by the Canadian Journey Series introduced in 2001.This was the first series to omit the $1 CAD banknote, which was replaced by the $1 coin known as the loonie in 1987. It was the last series to include the $2 and $1000 CAD banknotes. The $2 CAD note was withdrawn in 1996 and replaced by the $2 coin known as the toonie. The $1000 CAD note was withdrawn by the Bank of Canada in 2000 as part of a program to mitigate money laundering and organized crime.
The portraits on the front of the note were made larger than those of previous series. The $20, $50, $100, and $1000 CAD banknotes had a colour-shifting metallic foil security patch on the upper left corner, an optical security device that was difficult to reproduce with the commercial reproduction equipment of the time. This was the last Canadian banknote series to include planchettes as a security feature.
This series was the first to include a bar code with the serial number. This allows the visually impaired to determine the denomination of a banknote using a hand-held device distributed by the bank of Canada for free via the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.
Wilfrid Laurier
Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier (20 November 1841 – 17 February 1919), known as Wilfrid Laurier, was the seventh Prime Minister of Canada from 11 July 1896 to 6 October 1911.
Canada's first francophone prime minister, Laurier is often considered one of the country's greatest statesmen. He is well known for his policies of conciliation, expanding Confederation, and compromise between French and English Canada. His vision for Canada was a land of individual liberty and decentralized federalism. He also argued for an English-French partnership in Canada. "I have had before me as a pillar of fire," he said, "a policy of true Canadianism, of moderation, of reconciliation." And he passionately defended individual liberty, "Canada is free and freedom is its nationality," and "Nothing will prevent me from continuing my task of preserving at all cost our civil liberty." Laurier was also well-regarded for his efforts to establish Canada as an autonomous country within the British Empire, and he supported the continuation of the Empire if it was based on "absolute liberty political and commercial".
Laurier is the holder of a number of records; he is the fourth-longest serving Prime Minister of Canada, behind William Lyon Mackenzie King, John A. Macdonald, and Pierre Trudeau. A 2011 Maclean's historical ranking of the Prime Ministers placed Laurier first. Laurier also holds the record for the most consecutive federal elections won (4), and his 15-year tenure remains the longest unbroken term of office among Prime Ministers. In addition, his nearly 45 years (1874–1919) of service in the House of Commons is an all-time record for that house. Finally, at 31 years, 8 months, Laurier was the longest-serving leader of a major Canadian political party, surpassing King by over two years.
Belted kingfisher
The belted kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) is a large, conspicuous water kingfisher, the only member of that group commonly found in the northern United States and Canada. All kingfishers were formerly placed in one family, Alcedinidae, but recent research suggests that this should be divided into three. All six New World kingfishers, together with three Old World species, make up the new family Cerylidae.
The belted kingfisher is a stocky, medium-sized bird that measures between 28–35 cm (11–14 in) in length with a wingspan of between 48–58 cm (19–23 in). This kingfisher can weigh from 113 to 178 g (4.0 to 6.3 oz). The adult female averages slightly larger than the adult male.
This species has a large head with a shaggy crest. Its long, heavy bill is black with a grey base. These features are common in many kingfisher species. This kingfisher shows sexual dimorphism, with the female more brightly coloured than the male. Both sexes have a slate blue head, large white collar, a large blue band on the breast, and white underparts. The back and wings are slate blue with black feather tips with little white dots. The female features a rufous band across the upper belly that extends down the flanks. Juveniles of this species are similar to adults, but both sexes feature the rufous band on the upper belly. Juvenile males will have a rufous band that is somewhat mottled while the band on females will be much thinner than that on adult females.
Distribution and habitat
This bird's breeding habitat is near inland bodies of waters or coasts across most of Canada, Alaska and the United States. They migrate from the northern parts of its range to the southern United States, Mexico, Central America, the West Indies and northern South America in winter. During migration it may stray far from land; the species is recorded as an accidental visitor on oceanic islands such as Clarion, and has occurred as an extremely rare vagrant in Greenland, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, and the United Kingdom.
It leaves northern parts of its range when the water freezes; in warmer areas it is a permanent resident. A few individuals may linger in the north even in the coldest winters except in the Arctic, if there are remaining open bodies of water.
Province of Canada 5 Dollar Bill 1866 Queen Victoria Dominion of Canada 5 Dollar Bill 1912 Train Note