Canada unveils new $20 banknote featuring King Charles III
Canada is the first Commonwealth country outside Britain to feature King Charles on its banknotes since his ascension.
What happened
Canada unveiled a new $20 banknote featuring a portrait of King Charles III at a Bank of Canada event, marking the first new monarch to appear on Canadian currency in over 70 years. The vertically-oriented note includes an image of the Vimy Ridge memorial on the reverse, commemorating Canada's World War I role, and features floral and leafy tapestry symbolizing the King's environmental dedication. Elements of the design were developed in consultation with an Indigenous advisory council. The banknote will enter circulation in early 2026.
Context
Canada's move precedes similar decisions by other Commonwealth nations: New Zealand has already displayed the King on coins, while Australia announced it will not feature him on banknotes, instead using a new $5 note to honor Indigenous Australian culture and history. This is Canada's second vertical banknote—the $10 bill featuring civil rights advocate Viola Desmond, which won the International Bank Note Society's best design award in 2018. The timing coincides with heightened Canada-US tensions over trade and Trump's comments about making Canada the "51st state"; Prime Minister Mark Carney invited King Charles to open parliament in May, explicitly framing the visit as underscoring Canadian sovereignty. Polling indicates many Canadians, particularly in French-speaking Quebec, support ending ties to the British monarchy, though the monarchy's popularity has received a slight boost amid the US tensions.