Introduction
In Economic Action Plan 2012, the Government announced it would phase out the penny from Canada’s coinage system. The decision to phase out the penny was due to its excessive and rising cost of production relative to face value, the increased accumulation of pennies by Canadians in their households, environmental considerations, and the significant handling costs the penny imposes on retailers, financial institutions and the economy in general.
The estimated savings for taxpayers from phasing out the penny is $11 million a year.
The cent will remain Canada’s smallest unit for pricing goods and services. This will have no impact on payments made by cheque or electronic transactions—only cash transactions will be affected. Moreover, pennies can still be used in cash transactions indefinitely with businesses that choose to accept them.
Important Dates
To help consumers, businesses, charities and financial institutions to plan, a transition date of February 4, 2013 has been set after which the Royal Canadian Mint will no longer distribute pennies.
On this date, businesses will be encouraged to begin rounding cash transactions.
Find Out More
For more information, please visit the Department of Finance Canada Penny Web portal.