Where does the Canadian Money come from?

We all think that money just sort of appears or as my children have said “Grows on the tree in the backyard”.  There are things that a lot of Canadian’s do now know. I have put together a little history on it so people can see what has happened and a few key factors that most do not know about.  Did you know we do not even print our money here? Did you know that before 1935 private banks could issue money? Take a read and educate yourself on your money.

Canadian banknotes are the banknotes of Canada, commonly known as Canadian dollars. Today, they are issued in five, ten, twenty, fifty, and hundred dollar denominations. All current notes are issued by the Bank of Canada, which released its first series of notes in 1935.

In 1935, the Bank of Canada was founded and began issuing notes in denominations of $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $25, $50, $100, $500 and $1000. In 1944, the chartered banks were prohibited from issuing their own currency, with the Royal Bank of Canada and the Bank of Montreal among the last to issue notes. From that point forward, the Bank of Canada has been the sole issuer of bank notes denominated in Canadian dollars. A liability of more than $12 million remains on the Bank of Canada's books up to the present day, representing the face value of Dominion of Canada, Provincial, and chartered bank notes still outstanding.

Notes are issued by the Bank of Canada, but the actual production of the banknotes is outsourced to the Canadian Bank Note Company and Giesecke & Devrient of Germany in accordance with the specifications and requirements of the Bank of Canada. Bank notes are printed on paper composed of pure cotton. In March 2010 the Government of Canada announced that beginning in 2011; cotton fibre will be discontinued and replaced by a synthetic polymer.

The Canadian Bank Note Company is a Canadian security printing company. Until 1923, they were a part of the New York-based American Bank Note Company and since been based in Ottawa, Ontario. It is probably best known for being one of two private companies holding contracts with the Bank of Canada to supply it with Canada's paper currency. The company's other clients include Canadian Tire Money and printed on paper similar to real Canadian currency, and were jointly produced by two of the country’s long established security printers, British American Banknote Company and Canadian Bank Note Company .In October 2006, RR Donnelley completed acquisition of Canadian Bank Note's financial printing business. RR Donnelley (NASDAQ: RRD) is a Fortune 500 company based in Chicago, Illinois, that provides print and related services.  

The second company printing our money is Giesecke & Devrient that supplied currency during the inflation in the Weimar Republic in the 1920s, one of the most prominent cases of hyperinflation. It also printed tickets to the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany and did business with Spain under Franco. In November 2009 Giesecke & Devrient announced plans to form a new company with SAP AG and Nokia Corp and its headquarters will be in Frankfurt, Germany. Giesecke & Devrient have a history of doing business with Zimbabwe going back to 1965, and they have been supplying paper for banknotes to the government of Zimbabwe throughout the hyperinflation in Zimbabwe.

In June 2008 U.S. officials announced they would not take any action against the firm 'that is providing key support to Zimbabwe's brutal regime and is also an important contractor to the American government.  Seems Canadian officials didn’t care to speak up as they seem to not care that the company they used bankrupted a country.  It was reported that in July 2008 they decided to cease delivering banknote paper to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. The decision was in response to an "official request" from the German government and calls for international sanctions by the European Union and the United Nations. Dr. Karsten Ottenberg, CEO and Chairman of the G&D Management Board, explained:

"Our decision is a reaction to the political tension in Zimbabwe, which is mounting significantly rather than easing as expected, and takes account of the critical evaluation by the international community, German government and general public."

So next time someone tells you we make our own money you can tell them. No we outsource it to the US and a German company that has been internationally known for corruption, dealing with Nazi’s and destroying countries. They ask me why I do not trust the Canadian Government, I think I answered the question why, or Prove Me Wrong!