Frontiers Series $100 Note

This was the first note issued in the Frontiers series. The  theme is innovation in medical research, and the vignette on the back is anchored by the image of a researcher looking into a microscope. The scientist represents medical research in Canada and the nation’s commitment to it. She is surrounded by images of a DNA strand and the readout of a healthy heartbeat from an electrocardiogram monitor. The illustration of the insulin bottle celebrates the discovery of insulin by Canadian research scientists Frederick Banting and Charles Best. The image is a faithful reproduction of an actual example of one of the earliest insulin bottles, dated 1923.

The large window on the note features a smaller, colourized version of the portrait of Sir Robert Borden with an image of the tower from the East Block of Parliament, both in colour-shifting foil.

The note was released on 14 November 2011 (World Diabetes Day), at the MaRS Discovery District in Toronto, near the site of the Banting and Best laboratory. The $100 note was nominated for Bank Note of the Year for 2011 by the International Bank Note Society.