There are about six weeks left to spend your $25 bills — certain bank notes that are no longer in production will officially lose their status as legal tender in 2021.
The Bank of Canada issued a reminder that several obsolete bank note denominations — including the $1 and $2 bills that were replaced by the “loonie” and “toonie” coins in 1989 and 1996, respectively — cannot be used in transactions after Jan. 1, 2021.
The government is also removing legal tender status from the $25 and $500 bills, which were both discontinued shortly after being issued in 1935, as well as the $1,000 bill, which stopped production in 2000.
The central bank said that it supports the decommissioning of the out-of-use bills as it “helps ensure that the bank notes used by Canadians are current, in good condition, easy to use and difficult to counterfeit.”
While the discontinued bills can’t be used in transactions starting in the new year, they will continue to retain their value. They can be redeemed at face value at financial institutions or with the Bank of Canada directly.