Canadian money to become plastic, coins will be steel next year

Ottawa - The Canadian federal government announced in its budget that paper Canadian currency will become plastic and have new security features next year. Its $2 and $1 coins will also receive new changes.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s minority Conservative government announced in its budget that its paper currency will go plastic by late next year, according to the Globe and Mail. The plastic notes will also contain high security features to ensure that the $10 and $20 bills last longer. The Bank of Canada will replace the nation’s cotton-paper bank notes with a tough polymer that are meant to last two to three times longer. The money will be waterproof as well, so if you wash your money in the laundry then it won’t be a big deal, reports The Canadian Press. However, the Bank of Canada has not revealed the details on the specific technology. This latest measure is designed to avoid counterfeiting, which the Royal Canadian Mounted Police say there were more than 141,000 counterfeited bills found worth $3.3 million in 2007, reports the United Press International. Australia was the first nation to use plastic money and a spokesperson for the Bank of Canada, Julie Girard, believes it’s a very good investment on the part of the federal government. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty also announced that the nation’s $2 and $1 coins will be replaced with steel instead of the predominantly nickel-based.