And finally…Scot no longer worthy of note

Despite featuring on the note since 1971, a national debate has seen MacDonald’s legacy as a pioneer questioned due to his treatment of the nation’s indigenous population in the mid 19th century.

As well as brokering the deal that established Canada 150 years ago, Macdonald, who grew up in Glasgow, was the architect of the Indian Act which let indigenous children be taken forcibly from their parents.

The policy led to 100,000 boys and girls being sent to residential institutions in an attempt to remove all traces of their “savage” heritage.

From next year Macdonald will be replaced on the notes by Viola Desmond, a civil rights activist who in 1946 refused to leave the whites-only section of a theatre in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia.

A protest for which she was fined and sent to jail.

The move is part of a wider series of new banknotes that aim to celebrate individuals who have fought for social justice and human rights.

Anthony Wilson Smith, president of Historica Canada, the country’s largest independent history organisation, said Macdonald had become a polarising figure. “Many native leaders have argued that so long as he and other past oppressors are still honoured the path to reconciliation will be incomplete”, he said.

A bank of Canada spokesman said: “Viola Desmond was a woman who broke down barriers, who provided inspiration to Canadians on social justice issues and showed that each and every one of us, individually can make a difference.”