New bank bills, improved outlook make for a noteworthy day

OTTAWA • It was one of those noteworthy days.

Signs of surprising strength appeared in Canada’s economy, new bank bills were launched from space and the country’s top two financial leaders shared a public podium likely for the last time — with an astronaut.

The brighter outlook for the economy came Tuesday from Statistics Canada, which reported better-than-expected growth of 0.3% in February, matching the pace of the previous month.

While the advance is still meager compared to the heady growth coming out of the 2008-09 recession, it took many economists by surprise — beating their calls for growth of just 0.2% in February.

The beleaguered manufacturing sector also grew for a second month, by 0.8%, thanks to a rebound in auto production. Construction activity rebounded as well, edging up 0.2%. But it was the mining sector that continued to do the heavy lifting in February, rising 2.2% on the month.

“Finally, there’s something to cheer about in the Canadian economy,” said Avery Shenfeld, chef economist at CIBC World Markets.

Meanwhile, the stewards of that economy — Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney — applauded advances in Canadian technology as they unveiled the latest in a series of polymer bank notes in Ottawa.

The new non-paper, longerlasting $5 and $10 bills, designed with a combination of holograms and transparent elements, continue the government’s efforts to fight counterfeit bank notes that began with the $20, $50 and $100 polymer bills.

With Tuesday’s unveiling of the final two notes in the series, Mr. Flaherty said “one can see not only the unique story that each of the five denominations tells, but the unifying theme that underlies them all — the profound courage, determination, and ingenuity of our nation and its people.”

The new notes, which will begin circulating in November, display portraits of former prime ministers Wilfrid Laurier and John Macdonald, along with images of a passenger train rolling through the Rocky Mountains as well as symbols of Canada’s contribution to the space program — such as the robotic Canadarm2, used on the International Space Station.

“They represent another chapter in Canada’s proud history of technological and scientific achievement,” Mr. Carney said. “These polymer notes are at the frontier of bank note technology, and the new $5 and $10 notes depict the frontiers of our country and our planet.”

Fittingly, joining Mr. Flaherty and Mr. Carney for the launch were VIA Rail’s chairman Paul Smith and Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield — via satellite from the Space Station — who already had one of the $5 bills that illustrates the space robotics.

“We are today crossing the final frontier for a world first, which is the unveiling of a bank note from space,” Mr. Carney said.

For Mr. Carney, who will leave the Bank of Canada on June 1, Tuesday was expected to be the final time he and Mr. Flaherty appear at an event together. Mr. Carney cut short his term in office to become the Bank of England governor on July 1.

His replacement has yet to be announced by Mr. Flaherty, who needs to approve the choice of a new governor.

But the delay in making a decision has led to speculation the government is looking outside the bank for a successor — a move that could be seen as a snub of the bank’s second in command, Tiff Macklem, who would be expected to carry on with many of the policies set under Mr. Carney.

That perceived rift between the governor and the finance minister was made light of at Tuesday’s bill launch, when Mr. Carney’s cell phone rang during Mr. Flaherty’s speech.

That prompted the minister to joke: “I hope that’s not London calling.”