U.S. President Donald Trump has incorrectly described the Bank of Canada as one of several major Canadian banks operating in the United States, using the apparent misunderstanding to reinforce his criticism of Canada’s treatment of American financial institutions.
Trump made the remarks Wednesday during an Oval Office event with travel industry executives, where he was asked about the decline in Canadian tourism to the United States.
“They basically don’t allow banks of America to be in Canada. That’s sort of emblematic of the way they treat us,” Trump told reporters.
He then referred to the Bank of Canada as part of a group of major Canadian banks with operations in the United States.
“They have their banks here, Bank of Canada, all of their big banks, big beautiful banks. I think they have six or seven major banks here. We don’t have our banks there. You know why? They don’t allow it,” Trump said.
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The Bank of Canada, however, is not a commercial bank competing for customers in the United States. It is Canada’s central bank and a Crown corporation responsible for monetary policy, issuing Canada’s bank notes, promoting a stable and efficient financial system and providing banking services to the federal government.
Trump’s comments came as he continued to argue that Canada has benefited unfairly from its economic relationship with the United States, a position he has repeatedly cited in defending tariffs imposed on Canadian goods.
The president has frequently complained about what he considers unequal trade and market access between the two countries, making Canada’s banking sector another target of his broader criticism.
Canada’s major commercial banks include institutions such as Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Bank of Montreal, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Bank of Nova Scotia. Several of these institutions have significant operations in the United States.
The distinction between Canada’s central bank and its commercial banks is significant because the Bank of Canada does not function like a retail or commercial bank where consumers open ordinary checking accounts or businesses seek conventional banking services.
Trump’s remarks nevertheless underscored the broader tensions between Washington and Ottawa as the two closely connected economies navigate disputes over trade, tariffs and cross-border business.
The comments also came as officials and businesses on both sides of the border grapple with changes in travel patterns, with the United States seeking to attract Canadian visitors amid concerns about the impact of strained bilateral relations on tourism.
Trump’s claim about the Bank of Canada is therefore likely to draw attention beyond the immediate tourism debate, particularly because the institution plays a fundamentally different role from the commercial banks he appeared to reference.
