The Bank of Canada is the country's central bank. Its role, as defined in the original Bank of Canada Act of 1934, is "to promote the economic and financial welfare of Canada." The Bank of Canada is not a commercial institution. It does not provide regular banking services, nor does it accept deposits from the general public. Its clientele are the federal government, other central banks, commercial banks and certain other financial institutions.

The Bank was founded in 1934 as a privately owned corporation. In 1938, the Bank became a Crown corporation belonging to the federal government. Since that time, the Minister of Finance has held the entire share capital issued by the Bank. The Bank has considerable autonomy to carry out its responsibilities.

The Bank of Canada was created to be the sole issuer of bank notes and to facilitate management of the country's financial system. Having an independent monetary institution allows for the separation of the power to spend money from the power to create money. Separating the central bank from the political process enables it to adopt the medium- and long-term perspectives essential to conducting effective monetary policy.

What does the Bank do?

The Bank of Canada is responsible for:

1. Monetary Policy
   The goal of monetary policy is to contribute to solid economic performance and rising living standards for Canadians by keeping inflation low, stable, and predictable.

2. Bank Notes
   The Bank issues Canada's bank notes and is responsible for their design (and anti-counterfeiting features), distribution, and replacement.

3. Financial System
   The Bank actively promotes safe, sound, and efficient financial system, both within Canada and internationally.

4. Funds Management
   The Bank of Canada provides high-quality, effective, and efficient funds-management services for the government, the Bank and other clients.

5. Retail Debt Services
   Under its retail debt program, the government issues Canada Savings Bonds and Canada Premium Bonds. The Bank is responsible for providing support and advice for this program.

The Bank of Canada web page contains a wealth of information concerning historical Canadian mortgage rates.

• Main Web Page:
  http://www.bankofcanada.ca/en/index.html

• Average Prime Rate Charged by Banks:
  http://www.bankofcanada.ca/pdf/annual_page45_page46.pdf

• Average Residential Mortgage Lending Rate -5 Year Closed
  http://www.bankofcanada.ca/pdf/annual_page52_page53.pdf