As the Bank of Canada begins work on a new $5 bill, they will be asking Canadians to nominate an historical figure they deem worthy to replace the face of former Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier.
In 2018, civil rights activist Viola Desmond was selected to appear on the $10 bill, making her the first woman — other than the Queen — to appear on Canadian currency.
That, of course, happened because of the Bank of Canada’s specific call-out for an iconic woman. This time, the Bank is simply asking for any famous Canadian.
As soon as the news was announced on Thursday, suggestions began rolling in via social media, and competition has already become heated. Through the haze of arguments, Twitter has seen two particular names trending: Gord Downie, the late lead singer of The Tragically Hip, and Terry Fox, the cancer research activist and athlete.
A less popular suggestion has been Don Cherry, the former and recently disgraced Hockey Night in Canada commentator. And others have, more comically, thrown Meghan Markle and Prince Harry in as a potential pair to be included. Still, the one who seems to be drawing the most support ( and a share of ire) is Downie, who already has both a street and pier named after him.
One might assume that’s plenty for the lead singer of a band that reached its peak in the mid-90s. But, as Twitter user @iqnetcom wrote, “The late, great Gord Downie should be the one on the new 5 dollar bill. If I need to explain why, please resign,” while @Jebus_2011 added, “Putting Gord Downie on the $5 bill or coin and calling it a ‘Gordie’ could perhaps be the most Canadian thing ever.”
While there’s no doubting Downie is an important figure in Canadian music, and an Indigenous rights activist, why not give a platform to the people he was trying to help and support, rather than have his name continue to shadow them?
The singer has been made into a kind of hallowed figure nation-wide from the moment he announced his cancer diagnosis to his death more than a year later. The odd fetishization of the singer has since turned into a rather macabre celebration and mourning of a man. Worse is how some use their affection for the deceased singer as a measuring stick to prove just how Canadian they are, rather than supporting the causes he actually championed.
Downie, himself, would probably prefer we dig a little deeper into history and feature an Indigenous women’s rights activist like Mary Two-Axe Earley, or an Inuit artist like Kenojuak Ashevak.
As Steve Simon tweeted, “Sad that from all Canadian history, all people can come up with is Gord Downie,” while @beholdmystuff shared, “The names I see for the $5 are like, Dan Ackroyd, John Candy, Wayne Gretzky, Gord Downie, Gordie Howe, Terry Fox, etc. It makes me wonder if anyone in Canada has ever existed that wasn’t a white bro. Open your eyes.”
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2020
