Canadian dollar

In circulation in Canada

ISO code: CAD
Symbol: $
Minor unit: 100
Notes: 5
Issued by: Bank of Canada

Can old Canadian dollar notes still be exchanged?

Yes: with no deadline. Bank of Canada will still exchange $1, $2, $25, $500, $1000 notes from withdrawn series. They are no longer legal tender in shops, but they have not lost their value. How to exchange them →

Notes and coins in circulation

Canadian dollar: what each denomination is worth

$1withdrawn$0.71
$2withdrawn$1.43
$5blue$3.57
$10purple$7.13
$20greenATM$14.26
$25withdrawn$17.83
$50redATM$35.66
$100brown$71.31
$500withdrawn$356.56
$1,000withdrawn$713.12

The Canadian dollar’s largest current denomination is $100, worth about $71.31: the 24th most valuable top note among the 150 circulating currencies we have verified, where the median is $27.18.

ATM commonly dispensed by cash machineswithdrawn out of circulation but still exchangeable: hatched on the chart

Bars are scaled to face value on a log scale, not to physical size. Colours are the issuer’s own. Converted at mid-market reference rates; what a counter pays is always less.

Notes	Colour	Portrait	Security features
$5	blue	Wilfrid Laurier	transparent window, raised ink, metallic portrait, frosted maple leaf, maple leaf window
$10	purple	Viola Desmond	transparent window, raised ink, metallic portrait, frosted maple leaf, maple leaf window
$20	green	Queen Elizabeth II	transparent window, raised ink, metallic portrait, frosted maple leaf, maple leaf window
$50	red	William Lyon Mackenzie King	transparent window, raised ink, metallic portrait, frosted maple leaf, maple leaf window
$100	brown	Robert Borden	transparent window, raised ink, metallic portrait, frosted maple leaf, maple leaf window

Withdrawn notes

Value	Series	Portrait	Withdrawn	Still exchangeable?
$1	No longer legal tender (since 1 January 2021)	not recorded	1 January 2021	yes, no deadline
$2	No longer legal tender (since 1 January 2021)	not recorded	1 January 2021	yes, no deadline
$25	No longer legal tender (since 1 January 2021)	not recorded	1 January 2021	yes, no deadline
$500	No longer legal tender (since 1 January 2021)	not recorded	1 January 2021	yes, no deadline
$1000	No longer legal tender (since 1 January 2021)	not recorded	1 January 2021	yes, no deadline

Getting cash

Canadian cash machines usually dispense $20 notes, often $50 and $100. The $1 and $2 denominations are coins, not notes.

Telling a real note from a fake

Security features are designed to be checked by hand in a few seconds, tilt it, feel it, hold it to the light. These are the features Bank of Canada publishes for the Canadian dollar.

$5: transparent window, raised ink, metallic portrait, frosted maple leaf, maple leaf window
$10: transparent window, raised ink, metallic portrait, frosted maple leaf, maple leaf window
$20: transparent window, raised ink, metallic portrait, frosted maple leaf, maple leaf window
$50: transparent window, raised ink, metallic portrait, frosted maple leaf, maple leaf window
$100: transparent window, raised ink, metallic portrait, frosted maple leaf, maple leaf window