(Redirected from Crown Corporation)
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 Railways 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]:
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Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL)
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Business Development Bank
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Canada Council
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Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation
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Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)
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Canada Lands Company
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Canada Post
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Canada Science and Technology Museum Corporation
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Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA)
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Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
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Canadian Race Relations Foundation
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Cape Breton Development Corporation
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Defence Construction Canada
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Export Development Canada
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Farm Credit Canada
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International Development Research Centre
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Marine Atlantic
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National Film Board of Canada
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VIA Rail Canada
Examples of provincial Crown corporations in Canada:
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Alberta Treasury Branches
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BC Hydro
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GO Transit
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Hydro One
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Hydro-Québec
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Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC)
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Liquor Control Board of Ontario
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Manitoba Hydro
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Manitoba Public Insurance Corp.
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NB Power
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Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro
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Ontario Northland Railway
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Ontario Power Generation
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Ontario Clean Water Agency
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Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI)
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SaskEnergy
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SaskPower
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SaskTel
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Saskatchewan Transportation Company (STC)
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Société de transport de Montréal
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Société des alcools du Québec
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Sydney Steel Corporation
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TVOntario
Privatized ex-Crown corporations
''See also:''
List of privatizations
Several Canadian companies used to be Crown corporations but are now privatized, examples being:
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Air Canada
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Alberta Government Telephones
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BC Ferries
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Cameco Corporation
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Canadian National Railway
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Manitoba Telephone System
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Nova Scotia Power
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Petro-Canada
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Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (PCS)
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Saskatchewan Government Airways
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Teleglobe
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Telus
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Wascana Energy
Federal Agencies
(not Crown Corporations)
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Canadian Space Agency
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Toronto Port Authority
See also
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Structure of the Canadian federal government
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Nationalization
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Executive Agency