Public Banks in Canada | Money, Credit, and Debt Concerns and Info | Forum

Government-owned banks

• Bank of Canada (Central Bank)
• Business Development Bank of Canada
• Farm Credit Canada – Government-owned Farm Credit is not a deposit-taking bank. It is, however, a major lender to the agriculture and agri-food industries.

• Alberta Treasury Branches (ATB Financial) is a unique, provincially owned company that provides banking services, but for legal reasons is not considered a bank. It was created during the Great Depression by the government of William Aberhart under the influence of the strongly anti-bank economic ideology called Social Credit. The Social Credit Party of Alberta, won the 1935 election in part on a platform that argued for the nationalization or abolition of banks. But court cases later determined that the provincial government did not have the powers to do this. The ATB was created as a provincial-government alternative to the private banks. If it were a bank, ATB would be subject to federal legislation; therefore, the institution is never legally referred to as a bank so that it can remain under provincial jurisdiction. However, it offers all services associated with a standard retail bank.^[14]