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    Army bills: Funding the War of 1812

    In 1812, British North America had no banks and little currency. With the prospect of war drying up supplies of coins, the government of Lower Canada decided to issue legal tender notes called “army bills” to pay for troops and supplies.

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    Needs or wants? That is the question!

    Do you need it, or do you want it? That’s an important question to ask before buying anything. This activity is designed to teach kids how to prioritize their needs and wants, and how to make informed choices when shopping.

    Teaching the green economy

    From windmills and solar panels to electric cars, signs of the green economy are all around us. Check out our resources for how to teach about the green economy.

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  • The Museum Blog

Museum Reconstruction - Part 1

By: Graham Iddon


April 3, 2014

You have to break a lot of eggs for this omelette

In early February, a small group from the Bank’s Communications Department booked a brief tour of the main floor and first basement at the Wellington Street head office. It’s still in the demolition phase of the renovation, so please excuse the mess (we’ll get somebody to tidy it up soon). Obviously the Museum space was of particular interest to us and one of our hard-working photographers put on his yellow helmet and steel-toed boots and went along to photograph both our old space as well as our future space.

The actual demolition of the old Museum has not yet begun, so the Currency Museum is still more or less intact (no artifacts, of course). The temporary exhibition space is being used as a crew lunchroom and Gallery Two as storage. What has begun in earnest is the demolition of the basement cafeteria (we do like our demolition experts to be earnest). It is there, beneath the plaza at Bank and Wellington Streets, that the new Museum is planned to be - taking up the east end of the huge former cafeteria including the glass ceilinged ‘waterfall room’, and the large common area where staff events took place as recently as last summer.

Now it’s bare concrete, exposed ceiling beams and heaps of old cooking equipment, but in a few short years will be a beautiful, state-of-the-art museum space. Stay tuned for upcoming blogs tracking the progress of the Museum’s construction. Next time: a sneak peek at conceptual plans.

We want to hear from you! Do you have an idea for a blog post you’d like to see?
Content type(s): Blog posts

The Museum Blog

June 16, 2022

Army bills: Funding the War of 1812

By: David Bergeron, Graham Iddon


In 1812, British North America had no banks and little currency. With the prospect of war drying up supplies of coins, the government of Lower Canada decided to issue legal tender notes called “army bills” to pay for troops and supplies.
Content type(s): Blog posts Subject(s): Economy, History
May 5, 2022

Between tradition and technology

By: Graham Iddon


Collage, man at an easel, paintings of birds and a goose illustration with comments written on it.
What was proposed was a complete about-face from the philosophy behind recent security printing. If photocopiers could easily deal with the colours and designs of the current series, then the next series should be bold and simple.
Content type(s): Blog posts
April 26, 2022

Our COVID-19 protocols

We want you to feel safe and comfortable visiting us, so we’re taking every precaution to comply with public health and safety recommendations.
April 21, 2022

Teaching the green economy

By: Adam Young


From windmills and solar panels to electric cars, signs of the green economy are all around us. Check out our resources for how to teach about the green economy.
Content type(s): Blog posts Subject(s): Business and careers, Economy, Geography, Science, Social studies Grade level(s): Grade 07 / Secondary 1, Grade 08 / Secondary 2, Grade 09 / Secondary 3, Grade 10 / Secondary 4, Grades 11 and 12 / Secondary 5 and CEGEP

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30 Bank Street
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0G9, CANADA
613‑782‑8914

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