What is Crown Corporation?

Information about Crown Corporation

This article or section deals primarily with Canada and does not represent a worldwide view of the subject.
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In the Commonwealth Realms, a Crown corporation is a state-controlled company or enterprise. This article mainly deals with Canadian Crown corporations since the term is most widely used in Canada. Equivalent names in other jurisdictions include Government trading enterprises, Government-owned corporations, Nationalization and State-owned enterprises.

Canadian Crown Corporations

Crown corporations, in theory, are owned by the Canadian Sovereign. However, this is based on the legal technicality that the Crown, as an institution, owns all the property of government. These corporations do not belong to the Queen personally, but to the governments of the respective jurisdictions over which she reigns. Crown corporations operate on a day-to-day basis at arm's length from the government; direct control by government is exerted only over the corporation's budget and the appointment of its chairperson and directors.

In Canada, Crown corporations are operated both by provincial governments (the Crown-in-Right-of-Ontario, for example) and the federal government (the Crown-in-Right-of-Canada), as a means to pursue economic, social and political objectives. Canadian Crown corporations are involved in everything from the distribution, use, and price of certain goods and services, to energy development, resource extraction, public transportation, cultural promotion, and property management. They are also frequently used to give governments access to financial markets to provide financing for development and capital projects.

Two of the most significant Canadian Crown corporations of the 20th century were the Canadian National Railway and Air Canada. Both were privatized and are now publicly traded corporations. Other significant Crown corporations include the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, VIA Rail, and Marine Atlantic.

The importance of Crown corporations in the economy has declined in recent years, as a number of significant privatizations have occurred, particularly at the federal level. The heyday of government use of Crown corporations was the period from 1918 (Canadian National Railway being the first) through to 1981 (with Canada Post turned into a Crown Corporation).

Examples

Examples of federal Crown corporations in Canada [1]:

Atlantic Pilotage Authority
Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, also known as AECL
Bank of Canada/Banque du Canada
Blue Water Bridge Authority
Business Development Bank of Canada, also known as BDB
Canada Council for the Arts, commonly known as Canada Council
Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation
Canada Development Investment Corporation
Canada Lands Company Limited
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board
Canada Post Corporation
Canada Science and Technology Museum Corporation
Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, also known as CATSA
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, also known as CBC
Canadian Commercial Corporation
Canadian Dairy Commission
Canadian Museum of Civilization
Canadian Museum of Nature
Canadian Race Relations Foundation
Canadian Tourism Commission
Cape Breton Growth Fund Corporation
Defence Construction (1951) Limited
Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation
Export Development Canada
Farm Credit Canada
Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation
Great Lakes Pilotage Authority
International Development Research Centre
Laurentian Pilotage Authority
Marine Atlantic Inc.
National Arts Centre Corporation
National Capital Commission
National Film Board of Canada
National Gallery of Canada
National Museum of Science and Technology
Old Port of Montreal Corporation Inc.
Pacific Pilotage Authority
Parc Downsview Park Inc.
Public Sector Pension Investment Board
Ridley Terminals Inc.
Royal Canadian Mint
Standards Council of Canada
Telefilm Canada
VIA Rail Canada Inc

Examples of provincial Crown corporations in Canada:

Privatized ex-Crown corporations

See also: List of privatizations

Several Canadian companies used to be Crown corporations but are now privatized, examples being:

Federal Agencies

(not Crown Corporations)

The Business Development Bank of Canada is a crown corporation financial institution wholly owned by the Government of Canada. BDC plays a leadership role in delivering financial and consulting services to Canadian small business, with a particular focus on technology and exporting.
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The Canada Council for the Arts, commonly called the Canada Council, is an arts council of the Government of Canada created to foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts. It was introduced by Parliament in 1957.
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Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation or CDIC is a federal agency that provides insurance (up to a $100,000 CAD per personal and on Canadian accounts only) on financial services provided by chartered Canadian banks and financial institutions.
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Canada Lands Company Limited (CLCL) is an arms length, self-financing Crown Corporation reporting to Parliament through the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities. The principal goal of the company's current policy mandate as determined by Cabinet is:
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Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) is a Canadian government agency. The agency is responsible for the housing industry in Canada. Its main duty is currently to ensure low cost mortgage loans are available to Canadians by providing insurance to lenders in case of
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