20 Dollars In the name of George V, Canada's First Submarines During World War I

In August 1914, days after Britain declared war on Germany, the province of British Columbia quietly purchased two submarines being built in Seattle for the Chilean navy. Premier Richard McBride paid $1,150,000 from provincial funds — without federal authorization — because Ottawa was moving too slowly. The vessels, hastily renamed HMCS CC-1 and CC-2, were the entirety of Canada's submarine fleet for the duration of the war and never saw combat action.

The purchase was technically illegal under American neutrality laws, settled only after the submarines had already crossed into Canadian waters.