In the early 1950s, the Bank of Canada contracted noted Canadian artist Charles Comfort to design its next set of bank notes. For the first time, a single lead designer shaped the entire series. Its modern simplicity was an enormous departure from the long-outdated offerings of the printing companies.
Officials at the Bank wanted the notes to feature images of Canadian landscapes that showed little or no evidence of human activity. They chose the final eight images from over 3,000 photographs drawn from the collections of railways, archives and news agencies. What resulted was an extended portrait of Canada with some notes highlighting its unspoiled, wild beauty. The vision may have been idealized, but it served as the natural starting point for an evolving expression of official identity that would play out on all future bank notes.
Design highlights included moving the portrait to the right, simplifying the line work and integrating Canada’s coat of arms into the background pattern. No Canadian prime ministers appeared on these notes; every note carried the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II.
The first release of this series is known as the “Devil’s Head” notes owing to the illusion of a horned face that some saw behind the Queen’s ear. The portraits were altered for future issues.
Most of the front and back side of each note were intaglio printed, creating raised ink, and the paper had a scattering of green dots called planchettes. The first use of lithography in Bank of Canada notes provided a third colour for each note, seen in the tiny print on the face sides.
Explore each note
Canadian Landscape Series $1 Note
All the notes in this series feature a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II based on a Yousuf Karsh photograph. The back of this note carries an image of the land and sky of the Saskatchewan prairie.
Canadian Landscape Series $2 Note
All the notes in this series feature a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II based on a Yousuf Karsh photograph. The back of this note carries an image of Richmond in the Saint-François River Valley, Quebec.
Canadian Landscape Series $5 Note
All the notes in this series feature a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II based on a Yousuf Karsh photograph. The back of the note shows a view of Otter Falls near the Alaska Highway in the Yukon.
Canadian Landscape Series $10 Note
All the notes in this series feature a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II based on a Yousuf Karsh photograph. On the back is a view of Mount Burgess in Yoho National Park.
Canadian Landscape Series $20 Note
All the notes in this series feature a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II based on a Yousuf Karsh photograph. The vignette on the back of the note is a view of the Laurentian Mountains in Quebec.
Canadian Landscape Series $50 Note
All the notes in this series feature a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II based on a Yousuf Karsh photograph. The vignette on the back of the note is a view of Crescent Beach at Lockeport, Nova Scotia.
Canadian Landscape Series $100 Note
All the notes in this series feature a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II based on a Yousuf Karsh photograph. The back of the note shows Okanagan Lake in south central British Columbia.
Canadian Landscape Series $1,000 Note
All the notes in this series feature a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II based on a Yousuf Karsh photograph. The back of this note features L’Anse-Saint-Jean along the Saguenay River fjord in Quebec.
Commemorative Notes
Canadian Landscape Series $1 Commemorative Note
All the notes in this series feature a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II based on a Yousuf Karsh photograph. The back of this note carries an image of the Centre Block of the original 1862 Parliament buildings.
