Bank of Canada governor Stephen Poloz announced today that Emily Carr, one of Canada's most renowned artists, will be the next face of the country's $5 bank notes in 2017. Poloz unveiled the design for the polymer at a press conference in Ottawa. The announcement is a victory for the more than twenty-eight thousand petitioners who've been campaigning for representation of female historical figures - aside from the Queen - on Canadian polymers.

"Emily Carr certainly deserves to be included among the historical figures on our bank notes. Her accomplishments as both a painter and writer are recognized around the world, and she's been identified as a person of national historic significance to our country. I'm proud to add her to our bank notes" the governor said.

Poloz also announced the Bank of Canada's commitment that all futures series of bank notes will feature both notable women and men from Canadian history. To implement this new policy, the Bank of Canada is undertaking a major review this year of the the process for selecting historical figures who will appear on Canadian bank notes. Serious consideration will be given to the approach taken in Australia, where most bills feature notable historical figures of both genders.

"Bank notes that belong to all Canadians must depict a wider range of Canadians," said Poloz. "The Bank of Canada plans to feature Canadians of both genders as well as various ethnic origins. Who and what we celebrate on bank notes reflects what we consider important in our culture and history, and who we consider worthy of honouring for achievement. Women are not absent from the list of notable worthies in Canada, just notably absent or under-represented in many of the images that surround us and which contribute to our view of the world and our potential role in it."

Poloz also announced that in the new selection process Canadians will be invited to submit suggestions for historical characters they would like to appear on bank notes, and the list will be shared with the public as is done by the Bank of England. Final decisions for the notes will continue to be made by the Bank of Canada.

Campaigners praised the announcement that Emily Carr would be featured on a new bank note, and welcomed the news that the upcoming review process will begin with a commitment to feature both Canadian women and men."

It's about time," said campaign organizer Merna Forster in Victoria .

Oops! Unfortunately, this is an April Fool's joke. There are currently no female Canadian historical figures on our bank notes. But if you want to see more diversity on our bills, please sign the petition at change.org.