At 13:00 (ET), journalists, press photographers and TV crews are invited to attend the unveiling ceremony in the Bank of Canada’s Garden Court, located at 245 Sparks Street. Please use the East Tower entrance and be sure to have your press card with you. For security reasons, those wishing to attend must confirm by calling Jeremy Harrison at 613 782-8782 before noon on Friday, 17 June 2011.

Note: This ceremony is a photo op only; no Q&A period with journalists is scheduled.

At 13:25 (ET), individual photo opportunities with the Minister, Commissioner and Governor, as well as with the new polymer notes will be available to press photographers and TV crews in the side court of the Garden.

At 13:25 (ET), journalists (excluding press photographers and TV crews) will be escorted to the Bank of Canada media centre for the background briefing with Bank officials. This will be followed by a Q&A session.

A press release and additional background information will be available at 13:00 (ET) on the Bank’s website.

Audio and video webcasts of the unveiling ceremony will be accessible from the Bank’s website.

Note to editors: Journalists will be provided with a media kit that will include high-resolution images, fact sheets, the press release and other relevant information. Video B-roll will also be available.

Regional briefings: In addition to the national unveil event, a series of regional media briefings will take place on Monday, 20 June. Bank of Canada Senior Regional Representatives across the country will be joined by representatives of the RCMP to present the new polymer bank notes and answer questions:

B.C./Yukon Region: At 10:15 (Pacific Time), media are invited to attend a briefing session at the Surrey RCMP Detachment, 13130 76th Ave, Surrey, British Columbia.

Prairies Region: At 11:15 (Mountain Time), media are invited to attend a briefing session at the RCMP’s Calgary Commercial Crime Section, Stephen A. Duncan Building, Supt Bob Boyd Room, 7575 - 8th Street NE Calgary, Alberta.

Ontario Region: At 13:15 (Eastern Time), media are invited to attend a briefing session at the Hyatt Regency Toronto, Regency Room DE, 370 King Street West, Toronto, Ontario.

Quebec Region: At 13:15 (Eastern Time), media are invited to attend a briefing session at the Delta Montreal Hotel, Concerto Room, 475 President-Kennedy Avenue, Montreal, Quebec.

Atlantic Region: At 14:15 (Atlantic Time), media are invited to attend a briefing session at the Atlantica Hotel, Commons Room, 1980 Robie St, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Information note: If you have any questions, or for more information, please contact Jeremy Harrison at 613 782-8782 or jharrison@bankofcanada.ca.

Background: As announced on 10 March 2011, the Bank of Canada will begin circulating the new $100 polymer bank note in November 2011 and the new $50 polymer bank note in March 2012.

The period between the unveiling and the issuance of the notes will provide time for the Bank to work with its partners to familiarize Canadians with the new polymer bank notes and their innovative security features.

The remaining denominations – the $20 note, followed by the $10 and $5 notes – will be unveiled and issued by the end of 2013.

Further details regarding timelines for the unveiling and issuance of these notes will be made available in the coming months.