Bank of Canada unveils $10 bill to mark country's sesquicentennial

The Bank of Canada has unveiled a new $10 bank note to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Confederation -- and it will mark the first time an indigenous Canadian and a woman other than the Queen are featured on the country's currency.

The mostly purple polymer note depicts the faces of four federal political figures the Bank of Canada says helped shape the country: Sir John A. Macdonald, Sir George-Etienne Cartier, Agnes Macphail and James Gladstone.

The bank has already announced plans to put human rights activist Viola Desmond on the $10 bill later next year, making Desmond the first woman to grace a regularly circulating bank note.

The note marking the 150th anniversary, to be released in June, is commemorative and won't replace the existing design.

Bank governor Stephen Poloz says the new $10 bill is intended to instill a sense of pride in what Canadians have accomplished as a nation.

The note's front also carries images of Parliament's Hall of Honour, the names of all the provinces and territories and a depiction of the Memorial Chamber Arch in the Peace Tower of Parliament's centre block.

On the back, a range of images are shown to capture the country's diverse landscape including mountains, Prairie wheat, the Canadians Shield, the East Coast and the Northern Lights.

The new note will be available in June when 40 million of them go into circulation.