The colonial despatches of Vancouver Island and British Columbia 1846-1871
Bank of Montreal
In 1817, nine of Montreal's most prominent figures founded the Bank of Montreal, originally
known as the Montreal Bank. The bank was originally established to help business customers
with their trade in and out of the city.1
Its purpose furthered with the responsibility of providing a form of paper money to
customers, to become a place where people could deposit their savings, as a source
of loans, and of foreign exchange. In 1818, the bank expanded to operate outside the Québec region and in 1822 the bank converted from a private to a public company with 144 shareholders -- officially
becoming the Bank of Montreal.2
By 1864, the bank became the official bank for the government of the Province of Canada and
added the responsibility of financing government operations. The bank continued to
expand and in 1867 it had establishments in the Maritime provinces. After Canadian Confederation, the
bank focused its business on the growing number of lumber, railway, and industrial
companies. It became the main source of financing for the Canadian Pacific Railway
which provided the bank with an opportunity to open a branch in Winnipeg (1877), Calgary (1886), and Vancouver (1887).3
Until the founding of the Bank of Canada in 1935, the Bank of Montreal served as Canada's central bank, as well as Canada's oldest incorporated bank. Today the bank is the eighth largest bank in North America and the fourth largest
in Canada.4