The image of Port Coquitlam’s hometown hero will be on the new $5 bill.
Today, Dec. 16, as part of the federal government’s fall economic statement, it announced Terry Fox will be on the Canadian currency.
Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad spared no time to express the city’s “immense pride.”
“Terry Fox’s legacy transcends differences — his courage and his determination continues to inspire and unite not just his hometown of Port Coquitlam, but people from all over the world,” he wrote on social media.
“On behalf of the people of Port Coquitlam, I want to express our immense pride that our hometown hero is being honoured as the new face on Canada’s $5 bill.”
The new face of Canada's $5 bill is Terry Fox, our hometown hero.
— City of Port Coquitlam (@CityofPoCo) December 16, 2024
This historic decision celebrates the enduring legacy of a true Canadian hero whose Marathon of Hope continues to inspire millions around the world. https://t.co/8t8W9179j0
The news comes two days after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Terry Fox Secondary in Port Coquitlam on Friday, Dec. 13.
In the statement, the federal government says the image of former prime minister Sir Wilfred Laurier will move from the $5 note to the next version of the $50 bill.
“Terry Fox is a Canadian hero,” the statement reads.
“He campaigned to raise awareness and funding for cancer research by running his Marathon of Hope, a cross-Canada 42-km daily run, on his prosthetic leg.”
“By February 1981," it continues, "the Marathon of Hope had raised $24.7 million or $1 for every Canadian. His run was interrupted just past the half-way point when the cancer reached his lungs, and ultimately took his life. Through his efforts, the 22-year-old showed Canadians the difference that an ordinary person could make through sheer willpower and determination.”
In awarding the bill to Fox, Ottawa recognized the community runs held annually in his name for cancer research and urged Canadians to give $5 each year to fight the disease that took his life in 1981 as well as many other Canadians.
To date, the Terry Fox Foundation has raised nearly $1 billion for cancer research.
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