The Bank’s Beginnings

In 1933, Criticism of Canada’s banking system fueled a movement in Prime Minister R.B. Bennett’s parliament stoking concern that Canada lacked a direct means for settling international accounts. The Royal Commission to study “for” or “against” setting up a central banking system was voted in.
The arguments “for” won and adoption of the suggestions from the report started shortly after. Suggestions from the report became the framework for the Bank of Canada Act, which received royal assent on 3 July 1934. The Bank of Canada officially opened its doors in March 1935, as a privately owned institution, with shares sold to the public.
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