Canada P107a 10 Dollars 2013 UNC—Polymer—Mark Carney—Train—Rockies

Canada P-107a 10 Dollars 2013, signature TM/Mark Carney, Uncirculated.

• Variety: P-107a — signatures of Tiff Macklem (TM, Deputy Governor) and Mark Joseph Carney (MJC, Governor, Prime Minister of Canada 2025– )
• Color: Purple and violet on multicolor underprint
• Front:
  • Portrait of Sir John A. Macdonald, 1st Prime Minister of Canada (1867–1873, 1878–1891)
  • Frosted maple leaf-shaped window at left with denomination below
  • See-through hologram strip at right: smaller Macdonald portrait (top), Library of Parliament (bottom), denomination and transparent text throughout
  • Hologram strip border of translucent maple leaves
  • Denomination and year of issue at far right
  • Bilingual inscriptions in English and French
• Back:
  • The Canadian — VIA Rail’s transcontinental passenger train
  • Simplified map of VIA Rail’s passenger rail network below
  • Canadian Rockies / Jasper National Park mountains throughout
  • Reverse of maple leaf-shaped window at right with denomination below
  • Mirrored hologram strip at left
• Watermark: Integrated into polymer substrate
• Signatures: Tiff Macklem (TM) — Deputy Governor; Mark Joseph Carney (MJC) — Governor
• Issuing Bank: Bank of Canada / Banque du Canada
• Currency: Canadian Dollar (ISO: CAD, 1858–present)
• Denomination: 10 Dollars
• Composition: Polymer
• Size: 152.4 × 69.85 mm
• Shape: Rectangular
• Printer: Canadian Bank Note Company, Canada (1897–present)
• Country: Canada — constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy; Queen Elizabeth II as head of state (1952–2022)

Sir John A. Macdonald: The Architect of Confederation

The Man Who Created Canada

Sir John Alexander Macdonald is not merely a historical figure on a banknote — he is, in many ways, the reason Canada exists as a country. Born in Glasgow in 1815 and raised in Kingston, Ontario, Macdonald became the dominant political force of his era: a brilliant tactician, a tireless negotiator, and the principal architect of Canadian Confederation in 1867. He served as the country’s first Prime Minister, and then — after a scandal forced him from office — came back to win again and serve until his death in 1891. No other figure shaped the early Canadian state as profoundly.

His most enduring legacy is the Canadian Pacific Railway, completed in 1885 — a transcontinental line that physically stitched together a country spanning 5,000 kilometres. It is fitting, then, that the reverse of this note depicts The Canadian, VIA Rail’s transcontinental passenger train. Macdonald’s face on one side, his railway’s heir on the other.

The Canadian: A Train Across a Continent

Rail Transportation on the Reverse

The Canadian is one of the world’s great train journeys — a four-day passage from Toronto to Vancouver through the Canadian Shield, the prairies, and the Rocky Mountains. Introduced in 1955 by Canadian Pacific Railway and now operated by VIA Rail, it remains one of the few long-distance passenger trains in North America still running on a regular schedule. The note’s reverse captures it against the backdrop of the Canadian Rockies in Jasper National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most dramatic mountain landscapes on earth.

The simplified VIA Rail network map below the train is a quiet reminder of how vast Canada is — and how much of its national identity has been built around the challenge of crossing it.

The Frontiers Series & Polymer Technology

Issued in 2013 as part of the Frontiers series, this note marked Canada’s transition from paper to polymer substrate — a durable, counterfeit-resistant plastic that incorporates transparent windows and holographic elements impossible to replicate on paper. The frosted maple leaf window and the see-through hologram strip are not decorative flourishes; they are sophisticated security features that made the Frontiers series one of the most technically advanced banknote issues of its era.

A Final Reflection: The Country in Your Pocket

There is something quietly ambitious about this note. It puts a nation-builder on the front and his greatest project on the back. It uses the most advanced printing technology of its time to do it. And it was signed by two men who would each go on to lead major central banks. For a 10-dollar bill, it carries a remarkable amount of history — compressed, as always, into a small rectangle designed to pass from hand to hand without anyone stopping to look.

An excellent addition for collectors of Commonwealth issues, polymer banknotes, Canadian series, or notes with historically significant signatures. The Carney–Macklem pairing is the most sought-after variety of the P-107 series.