Our role as fiscal agent for the Government of Canada includes acting as banker and treasury manager and managing Canada’s foreign exchange reserves, wholesale domestic debt program, and retail debt program.
Government banker and treasury manager
As the Government’s banker and treasury manager, we manage the accounts of Canada’s Receiver General, through which almost all money collected and spent by the Government flows. We ensure that these accounts have enough cash to meet daily requirements and invest any surpluses in term deposits.
Foreign exchange reserves
These reserves provide general liquidity for the government and help to promote orderly conditions in the Canadian-dollar foreign exchange market. On very rare occasions, we may directly intervene in the market to counter disruptive short-term movements in the Canadian dollar.
Wholesale Domestic Debt Program
The Government's wholesale domestic debt consists largely of outstanding government securities such as treasury bills and marketable bonds. We provide policy advice to the government on the efficient management of this debt and sell the securities at auction to financial market distributors and dealers. The fundamental objectives of debt management are to raise stable and low-cost funding to meet the financial needs of the government and to maintain a well-functioning Government of Canada securities market.
Retail Debt Program
We service and redeem the Government’s outstanding retail debt (Canada Savings Bonds and Canada Premium Bonds) including providing operational, systems support and accounting services, and undertaking communications activities.