Historians shrug as two prime ministers erased from Canadian banknotes
Losing two of Canada’s wartime prime ministers from the country’s $50 and $100 bills won’t be a step backwards for a country that has plenty to learn about itself, a pair of leading history buffs say.
Soon after the federal government announced Thursday that the faces of William Lyon Mackenzie King and Sir Robert Borden would be dropped from the banknotes, Historica Canada weighed in, saying there will always be ways to pay tribute to the two men.
“We think that history is a moving target,” said Anthony Wilson-Smith, CEO of Canada’s largest independent organization devoted to enhancing awareness of Canadian history.
“Events only happen once. But there’s always a thousand different ways to look at them.”