WINNIPEG -- Manitoba's Progressive Conservative leader wants suffragette Nellie McClung to be given a prominent spot on a Canadian banknote.
The Queen is the only woman currently featured on a bill.
Brian Pallister says in a letter to the Bank of Canada governor that McClung should be recognized for her role in the enfranchisement of women.
Pallister says a planned commemorative coin is temporary and McClung deserves to be singled out more permanently.
McClung fought tirelessly for women's suffrage and was also one of the Famous Five -- a group who won a landmark court ruling which recognized women as persons.
The five women were featured on the $50 bill at one time, but were replaced by an icebreaker in 2011.
Women deserve a spot on Canadian currency, Pallister wrote in the letter released Thursday.
"This would be a visible and important expression of the role women have played in Canada's life and history," he said.
"I can see no better representation of a female pioneer and democratic icon on a Canadian banknote than Nellie McClung's image.
"This would be a vivid visual reminder to all Canadians, young and old, of how we hold democracy dear and everyone's place in it."
Thursday was the 100th anniversary of Manitoba becoming the first province to grant women the right to vote.
