The desire to have a public entity separate from both the banking sector and the political process, whose job is to guide the economy in the long-term best interests of its citizens, is what’s behind the existence of central banks around the world. And it’s what led to the creation of the Bank of Canada in 1934.
The Bank of Canada Act established the Bank as a special type of Crown corporation with considerable independence to carry out its responsibilities. The Act sets out our “business and powers” as they relate to our core responsibilities of monetary policy, financial stability, currency, funds management and, more recently, retail payments supervision.