The campaign to have Port Coquitlam hero Terry Fox on the next $5 bill continues to swell.

The city of Port Coquitlam now has a direct link on its website to encourage visitors to vote for the cancer research crusader, who ran the Marathon of Hope in 1980.

article continues below

Organizers of the Terry Fox Hometown Run are also encouraging the public to nominate Fox for the new bill to coincide with the 40th anniversary of his historic fundraising journey.

According to the Bank of Canada, which is calling for entries until March 11, the names of about 300 Canadian icons have been put forward including Fox and:

• B.C. artist Emily Carr;

• First World War flying ace Billy Bishop and surgeon John McCrae, who is best known for his poem "In Flanders Fields;"

• pianist Glenn Gould;

• Quebec politician René Lévesque;

• diplomat Vincent Massey;

• Métis leader Louis Riel;

• and Laura Secord, a War of 1812 heroine.

Amélie Ferron-Craig, spokesperson for the Bank of Canada, told The Tri-City News last week the list of nominees will be updated weekly.

After the deadline, the names will be reviewed by an independent advisory council made up of “eminent people from academia, the cultural sector and civil society,” she wrote in an email. “With the help of additional historical research and public opinion research to gauge the views of Canadians, the advisory council will review the nominations and develop a shortlist of candidates.”

The names of the finalists will be handed to the governor of the Bank of Canada, with the finance minister tasked to make the decision on whose face will be on the new note.

An announcement is set for later this year or early 2021, she said.

•••

Click here to cast your vote: bankofcanada.ca/banknotes/banknoteable-5/