The story of the Bank of Canada starts
well before its creation in 1935.

Let’s go back to when Europeans
arrived to settle in North America.

The land we now know as Canada became
a French colony

then a British colony,

and throughout it all most trade
was done by bartering.

But as the colonies grew, people
started using money.

Since the money circulating came
from all over :

French livres, British pounds,
Spanish dollars – this was a problem…

To add to the confusion, local colonial
governments issued paper bills.

Even companies issued tokens
that were used as money.

By the early 1800s, the first banks
were established in the colonies

to serve a growing population, and they too
issued their own bank notes…

Confusion reigned!

Then, in 1867, the colonies joined
together to form the Dominion of Canada.

The new Canadian government was given the
power to regulate currency and banking.

It issued the first Dominion of Canada
notes and coins,

which helped bring some
order to the scene.

But the job wasn’t complete,

private banks were
still issuing money

and not every bank was safe

many of them failed.

In 1929, the Great Depression took its toll around the world.

In Canada, almost one-third of the workforce didn’t have a job.

Those who had jobs often saw their wages slashed.

Many blamed private banks for the economic disaster

and said Canada needed a bank for the people.

The Government listened, and in 1935

the Bank of Canada opened its doors!

Its mission?

To promote the economic and financial welfare of Canada.

The Bank of Canada took over the role of providing bank notes

and the private banks stopped issuing their own currency...

To this day it remains the sole issuer of Canadian bank notes.

When Canada joined World War II in 1939,

the Bank sold Victory Bonds to help finance the war effort.

it managed to raise over 12 billion dollars

or about 170 billion in today’s dollars!

Since its opening,

the Bank of Canada has grown into its Central Bank mandate

through its 4 pillar functions:

implementing monetary policy,

providing currency,

monitoring the financial system,

and acting as the fiscal agent of the government of Canada.

Over the years the Bank of Canada has worked hard

to stay on top of changes in its fields.

Bank notes used to be made from cotton paper, now our notes are made

of polymer so they last much longer and are much harder to counterfeit.

As new digital currencies are developed, the Bank is working with other

Canadian banks to better understand how these work.

The global economy keeps changing – and what happens in

one part of the world can affect people everywhere.

So to support the Canadian economy, the bank keeps on top

of what’s going on around the globe.

The Bank of Canada has come a long way since 1935.

It rebuilt its headquarters so staff can work together more efficiently.

It communicates with Canadians so they can understand what the Bank is doing,

and how Canadians themselves affect the economy.

And it will always be dedicated to promoting the economic and

financial welfare of Canadians.