The 25-cent Millennium coin chosen for issue in July 1999 was designed by Maria H. Sarkany of Burlington, Ontario. Her winning design in the Mint's "Create a Centsation Contest" is entitled "A Nation of People" and was inspired by her love of Canada.

The coin celebrates Canada's ethnic and cultural diversity with an image of six people drawn with one continuous line. They represent law and order, learning, teaching, the arts, and the love of nature and sports. Launching of the coin on Canada Day, July 1 occurred simultaneously in three ethnically diverse cities across Canada: in Vancouver, British Colombia; Toronto, Ontario; and Montreal, Quebec.

A talented artist, Maria Sarkany was born and educated in Transylvania, Romania where she attended a fine arts school. Following work as a china decorator in Vienna, Austria, she moved to Canada in 1970. She has worked for Westinghouse Canada Inc., as an illustrator and lives in Burlington with her husband, John and daughter, Rita.