The $1,000 bill, nicknamed a “pinkie” for its reddish-purple hue, will no longer be accepted as legal tender in Canada.
The announcement was a detail in the 367-page budget document released yesterday.
The Bank of Canada stopped printing the bill in 2000 in an effort to combat money laundering and organised crime.
Now, in a further effort to crack down on counterfeiting and tax evasion, the government will allow a limited grace period for the approximately 700,000 of the bills still in circulation, to be exchanged.
Many Canadians are a lot more familiar with a Canadian $2 bill like this one issued in 1986. It was discontinued in 1996 and replaced with the coin known as the toonie. (Bank of Canada)
The $1,000 bill is accompanied by the $500, the $25, the $2 bill and the $1. which all had ceased to be printed, but could still be used.
Soon that will no longer be the case for these souvenirs either.
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