Canada unveils 10 bill featuring civil rights icon Viola Desmond Toronto Star

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The bill marks a growing recognition of Desmond's refusal to leave the whites-only section of a Nova Scotia movie theatre on Nov. 8, 1946 and the seminal role it played in Canada's civil rights movement.

HALIFAX - Viola Desmond's trailblazing act of defiance ' overlooked for decades by most Canadians ' was honoured Thursday in a Halifax ceremony that cemented her new status as a civil rights icon.

A new $10 bill featuring Desmond was unveiled by Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz.

The purple polymer bill ' the first vertically oriented bank note issued in Canada ' includes a portrait of Desmond and a historic map of north end Halifax on one side and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg on the other.

"It was long past time for a bank note to feature an iconic Canadian woman," Poloz told the large crowd that had gathered at the Halifax Central Library on International Women's Day despite a blustery snowstorm and flickering power.

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