Politics

King Charles won't be featured on $20 bills until 2027, Bank of Canada says

New $20 bills featuring the face of King Charles won't be in circulation for another few years, the Bank of Canada said Monday.

First coins featuring King Charles began circulating in December

A person leaving a chapel looks off to the left.
Britain's King Charles III leaves St. George's Chapel, in Windsor Castle, after attending the Easter Mattins Service on March 31. (Hollie Adams/AFP/Getty Images)

New $20 bills featuring the face of King Charles won't be in circulation for another few years, the Bank of Canada said Monday.

The government is working on a new design for Canada's most commonly circulated bank note but it won't be ready for circulation until 2027.

"The process of issuing new notes involves several steps: research and development, design — including security features — and, finally, production," a news release from the Bank of Canada said.

While it will still feature a picture of the Vimy Ridge memorial, the new note will be vertical like the recently redesigned $10 bill.

The government announced that King Charles would replace his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, on Canada's currency during his coronation celebration last year.

The first Canadian coins bearing the image of King Charles were unveiled in November and began circulating in December. All Canadian coins still in circulation with the Queen's image remain legal tender.

Two people remove a cover from a large replica coin.
Marie Lemay, president and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint, and designer Steven Rosati at an event celebrating the first strike of a loonie with the effigy of King Charles on it at the Royal Canadian Mint in Winnipeg on Nov. 14, 2023. (John Woods/The Canadian Press)

With files from The Canadian Press