About the note
The original photograph of Queen Elizabeth II was supplied by Anthony Buckley & Constantine, photographers to the Royal Family at the time. Stanley H. Doubtfire of the De La Rue Company was the engraver. Beside the Queen is a north‑facing view of the 1862 Library of Parliament attached to the current Centre Block on Parliament Hill.
Like all notes in this series, the reverse features a bird. The original artwork was created by renowned Canadian nature artist John Crosby and prepared for lithography by Yves Baril of the Canadian Bank Note Company, who reproduced it in gouache and coloured pencil. This was the first series to use entirely lithographed backs. The $1,000 is one of four notes in this series to feature a colour‑shifting patch, a small gold rectangle that changes colour as it is tilted and that cannot be duplicated by photocopier or colour printer.
The birds selected for the series were chosen for their pan‑Canadian habitats. Most pine grosbeaks spend their entire lives in Canada. They breed in evergreen forests but are found everywhere south of the tundra. The bird originally proposed for this note was a spruce grouse, but that choice proved controversial because of the bird’s nickname, “fool hen.” The spruce grouse tries to avoid predators by standing still—a tactic that may be effective in the wild but not against humans.
At a glance
- Portrait: Queen Elizabeth II
- Date of issue: May 14, 1992
- Last day of issue: May 11, 2000
- Signatures:
- Deputy Governors Gordon G. Thiessen and Bernard Bonin
- Governors John W. Crow and Gordon G. Thiessen
- Dimensions: 15.2 cm x 7 cm
- Design: De La Rue Company Ltd.
- Printer: Canadian Bank Note Company Ltd.
- Status: not legal tender
