The Bank of Canada is in charge of our lending rate and we need to pay close attention to their rate announcements. Spoiler Alert: the Bank of Canada central bank is a Private corporation

What is the Bank of Canada?

it is Canada's national bank that controls the interest rate for borrowers requesting for a loan. Main role  "to promote the economic and financial welfare of Canada" as stated from the Bank of Canada Act.

What does the Bank of Canada Do?

1.  Monetary Policy:  Managing the supply of money circulation in the Canada economy using monetary frame \work to keep inflation in check.

2.  Financial System: Maintain a efficient financial system within Canada and internationally.  They also conduct transactions in the financial markets to support the Bank of Canada objectives.

3.  Currency: Distribute, design and issue Canadian bank notes

4.  Management of Funds: They are the fiscal agent for the Government of Canada where they manage the national debt and exchange reserves.

5.  Retail payments: It supervises payment service providers according to the Retail Payment Activities Act.

Who Runs the Bank of Canada?

The Governing Council controls the Bank of Canada. The Governing council contains a Governor, Senior Governor and Deputy Governors.

The Governing Council main objective is to conduct monetary policy through policy rates. The rate is announced on 8 fixed times of the year. The Council makes the decision about the rate announcement based on consensus vs individual votes, which is the case of some other central banks.  

Executive Council also has their hand in the functionality of the Bank of Canada. They chart the Strategic direction of the Bank.

How does the Bank of Canada separate from the Political Environment?

The Bank of Canada is a separate/special Crown Corporation - it has independence to carry out responsibilities:

• The Governor and Senior Deputy Governor are appointed by the Bank's Board of Directors (with the approval of Cabinet), not by the federal government.
• The Deputy Minister of Finance sits on the Board of Directors but has no vote.
• They submit expenditures to the Board of Directors, whereas federal government departments submit theirs to the Treasury Board.
• The employees are regulated by the Bank itself, not by federal public service agencies.
• The books are audited by external auditors appointed by Cabinet on the recommendation of the Minister of Finance, not by the Auditor General of Canada.

An independent monetary institution separates the power to spend money from the power to create money.

As a central bank separate from the political process, they are able to adopt the medium- and long-term perspectives essential to conducting effective monetary policy.

Governance Documents

Publishing Information on how they work are documented below:

• The Bank of Canada Act requires us to submit our audited financial statements each year, accompanied by a report from the Governor to the Minister of Finance.
• The Payment Clearing and Settlement Act gives us responsibility for the oversight of payments and other clearing and settlement systems in Canada, for the purpose of controlling systemic risk.
• Our Annual Report includes audited financial statements, and we also publish a Quarterly Financial Report.