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Viola Desmond to appear on new Canadian banknote

Ask our Experts
Posted on December 8, 2016

Viola Desmond to appear on new Canadian banknote

On Friday, December 8 Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced that Viola Desmond would be the first woman to appear on the face of a Canadian banknote. Desmond is often described as Canada's Rosa Parks for her decision to sit in a whites-only section of a Nova Scotia movie theatre in 1946. Barbara Lorenzkowski, associate professor in the Department of History in the Faculty of Arts and Science, has taught the story of Viola Desmond multiple times and can weigh in on why this is such a historic moment.

Barbara Lorenzkowski, associate professor, Department of History
Barbara.Lorenzkowski@concordia.ca
514-848-2424, ext. 2420

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