The reverse side depicts children engaged in winter sports, including sledding, ice skating, and hockey; this is accompanied by a quotation from Roch Carrier's short story, "The Hockey Sweater": Les hivers de mon enfance étaient des saisons longues, longues.

[4] Some pointed out the note's most recent redesign took place only four years prior, while many others were averse to the idea of carrying yet another coin in their wallets and pockets.

For years, Canadians have been known to deface certain editions of the five-dollar note by using ink pens to alter Laurier's features to resemble Spock, the Star Trek character originally portrayed by Leonard Nimoy.

When "Spocking" surged in 2015 following Nimoy's death, the Bank reminded people that, while the practice is not illegal and the notes remain legal tender and "a symbol of our country and a source of national pride", defacing the bill could damage its security features and lead retailers to refuse them.

In 2020, a short-list of eight "bank NOTE-able" Canadians to be portrayed on the $5 vertical polymer bills in place of Laurier was selected from 600 nominees: Terry Fox, Crowfoot, Pitseolak Ashoona, Robertine Barry, Binaaswi, Won Alexander Cumyow, Lotta Hitschmanova and Fred Loft,[8] with the final decision to be made by the Minister of Finance.