While it is great that a new signature combo and new prefixes are released somewhere in the country, the sad thing is that many banks in Newfoundland and Labrador (and possibly Atlantic Canada in general) typically do not see any new notes during the winter months, possibly due to uncertainty of bad weather and shipping delays caused by it. I am thinking banks in Newfoundland and Labrador order a three-month (or four-month) supply of money to do them for the winter months and ensure that they do not run low until just before April when the weather starts getting better and it is safer to ship a fresh money supply.
Another factor that could be a factor could be that demand for $5 notes may have peaked in Newfoundland and Labrador in recent years due to mass inflation, which may have caused a surge in new $10 notes a few months ago. But then again, maybe the number of $10 notes in my province had risen this past year only because the Scotiabank ATMs had removed $5 notes and replaced them with $10 notes simply because they had to fill the slots with something. Based on a post in this thread, we know that RBC ATMs still do dispense $5 notes, which implies that there is still sufficient demand for $5 notes plus RBC's ATMs can handle polymer $5 notes pretty well without constantly breaking down.
Either way, even though I did not see any new $5 notes in 2023, I may have to wait until at least April before I find out if the R/M $5 notes come my way. I am thinking banks in my province order the first batch of new money for April due to the start of the fiscal year. I realize that the HCV-HCZ prefixes first got issued in Canada in early 2020, and the first batch of them did come to my province by spring that year, so the HCW prefixes that got sent to banks in spring 2020 may be due to be replaced by April. But if I have to wait longer for the new $5 signature combo, it is likely due to an increased demand for $10 notes in my province, and the remaining $5 notes that have yet to be replaced in my province may end up getting replaced with new $10 notes due to inflation (as much as I like $10 notes, I hope I see the R/M $5 notes).
