HOT TOPIC: The penny is history
Will you miss the penny?
The Royal Canadian Mint has stopped distribution of pennies, which means businesses will no longer receive rolls of copper coins from the bank.
And for customers, today marks the first day retailers are encouraged to round to the nearest nickel, though some may still accept pennies.
If it's a cash transaction and the total is $1.01 or $1.02, the retailer will round down. But if it's $1.03 or $1.04, it will be rounded up to the nearest 0.05.
Electronic transactions will not be affected by the disappearance of the penny.
This change has been coming since March 29, 2012, when federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced his government would phase out the penny.
Each penny cost the government 1.6 cents to produce, so Ottawa expects to save $11 million per year. The last Canadian penny was minted May 4, 2012.
CBC News Vancouver hosted a 90-minute live chat on the issue Monday evening, which you can replay below.
