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In the early settlement period of the province, the availability of currency and access to credit was important in land and business growth and development. As early as 1831, William Hamilton Merritt was pushing forward a project to establish a bank in St. Catharines to support the growth of business in the area.
In 1835, a Farmer’s Bank was established. In 1850, the Province of Canada passed the Free Banking Act of 1850 with the intent of allowing smaller joint stock local banks to be established. These smaller banks would be allowed to issue bank notes, deal in gold and silver bullion, and discount promissory notes. They were required to deposit $100,000 with the provincial government debentures as security against the banknotes they issued.
The St. Catharines Museum and Welland Canals Centre is helping us celebrate our 150th anniversary of being officially incorporated as a City with a weekly look back into our rich history from a diverse range of perspectives.
When Canada became a country in 1867, the Constitution Act gave the Federal government exclusive legislative rights over banking-related matters and currency. In 1871 the federal government passed an act to regulate banks and banking in Canada which has remained at the core of banking legislation ever since.
By the time St. Catharines became a city in 1876, many local smaller financial institutions had merged into three large banking institutions with local branch offices in St. Catharines – The Imperial Bank of Commerce, the Canadian Bank of Commerce, and the Bank of Toronto.
The Board of Trade stated in its community profile in 1899 that “the prosperity of a community is dependent to a greater extent than most people imagine upon its banking institutions; they are in fact the arteries of commercial life.”
The above photo of the Sovereign Bank of Canada located on the corner of Queen Street and St. Paul Street was taken during its construction in 1907. While this building was under construction, the Sovereign Bank was liquidated and eventually opened as the Bank of Nova Scotia. (2455-N)
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