I was speaking to a co-worker in recent days, and I was informed that she tried to get a commercial order of $10 bills from the same Scotiabank branch I deal with (a small branch, not a main branch) for a business she runs. She tried numerous times, and she couldn't get any. She had no choice other than order twice as many fives.
The same person also told me she used a drive-thru TD ATM, and while $10 bills are an option, none existed, even after repeated attempts.
However, the only new $10s I got were obtained in my change at the Sobeys near where I live, but they probably got them through a main branch downtown.
And, as I mentioned before, the newer Scotiabank ATMs have all denominations except $10s.
That said, it looks like my quest for $10 may be reached the end of the road. I think it's quite possible that there are virtually no banks in my province that order $10 bills anymore, and every ten I see in my change, it's always one with MacDonald's portrait on it. If any banks order them, maybe just the main branches, but that's about it.
I also think the way inflation is rapidly headed (with the cost of a Big Mac meal only one price hike away from exceeding $10 with tax), and the number of new $10s printed prior to launch being so low - less than 20 million printed - our beloved $10 bill may be on deathwatch. It's possible that with the $50 and $100 dramatically on the rise, there is probably going to be a need to expand the number of serial number denominational letters on those denominations, and the $10 is possibly a candidate for retirement in due time.
If the Bank of Canada discontinues the $10 bill (likely the same reason we lost the $500 bill in 1938 and the half-dollar in 2004), then denominational letters D, E, T and F will eventually find a new place on the two highest denominations in our currency system. Half of the four letters get put on the $50, and the other half on the $100.
If the $10 bill was to get discontinued, this will be the second time denominational letter F will have appeared on a defunct banknote. I think it should move to the $50, considering that there was prefix EFA on the $50s back in 1989. I mean, denominational letter C did originally appear on the $5 bill during the two-letter era, and now it is back on the $5.
The decision to retire the $10 bill may depend on how many banks order them. If demand is low, the ten must go.