List of Canadian royal commissions


This is a list of Canadian royal commissions or commissions of inquiry since Confederation.
In Canada, royal commissions and commissions of inquiry are official inquiries into matters of national concern, either in order to look into an important general issue or to fully investigate a specific incident. They are appointed by the governor-in-Council, according to the Inquiries Act, by an order-in-Council that includes the names of the commissioners, the terms of reference, and the body's powers; commissions are often referred to informally by the name of the chairperson or commissioner, such as the "Gomery Inquiry", a commission headed by John Gomery. The findings are reported to Cabinet for appropriate action; while these are non-binding, many have a significant impact on public opinion and the shape of public policy.
The Crown in right of each province can also appoint a royal commission. Federal inquiries are limited to matters within the constitutional jurisdiction of the Parliament of Canada; they can only look at issues within provincial jurisdiction that are connected to federal jurisdiction, such as policing on-reserve, child welfare on-reserve, etcetera. Other types of federal public inquiries include task forces and departmental investigations.
Since the 1960s, royal commissions have tended to be reserved for broad topics, whereas commissions of inquiry have more focused. From 1867 to 2013, there have been almost 450 federal commissions of inquiry, with and without the royal title; more than 1,500 departmental investigations; and an undetermined number of task forces.

Overview

An inquiry called by the federal government into matters of national concern are known in Canada as royal commissions or commissions of inquiry. These consist of a panel of distinguished individuals, experts, or judges convened by the governor-in-Council to look into and secure advice for an issue of general importance or to fully investigate a specific contentious incident. The same order-in-Council forming the commission will also set out the terms of reference for, and powers of, the commission. This is done according to the Inquiries Act, which was first passed by the Parliament of Canada in 1868 and provides royal commissions, commissions of inquiry, task forces, and departmental investigations the power to conduct investigations by subpoenaing witnesses, taking evidence under oath, requisitioning documents, and hiring expert staff.
Once the commission's task is complete, its findings are reported to Cabinet for appropriate action. While a commission's findings and recommendations are non-binding, many have a significant impact on public opinion and the shape of public policy.
In practice, royal commissions can be seen as commissions of inquiry under the Great Seal of Canada that carry a royal title; though, apart from this distinction, there is no effective difference between the two. Royal commissions tend to be thought of as broader in scope than other public inquiries, often holding nationwide public hearings and publishing associated research reports, as well as their formal findings and recommendations.
There are several different kinds of commissions of inquiry, which can be established under either Part I or Part II of the Inquiries Act, or any one of 87 or more federal statutes. The mandate of a commission of inquiry depends on the nature of the issue to be considered. Advisory commissions usually have a broad mandate in order to ensure that commissioners consider all options and consult all parties with an interest in the matter, whereas investigative commissions typically have a more specific, focused mandate. Commissions of inquiry created under Part I of the Inquiries Act are considered to government departments for the purposes of the Financial Administration Act. Oftentimes, the prime minister is given responsibility for the commission for the purposes of the FAA, thus enabling the commission to receive administrative support from the Privy Council Office.
Other types of public inquiry in Canada that are closely related to royal commissions include task forces, which are normally composed of knowledgeable practitioners appointed by government departments to conduct concentrated investigations into specific practical matters. In the past, they have been assigned to look into such matters as privacy and computers, immigration procedures, retirement income policy, labour market development, fisheries policy, and sports. Though usually not as wide-ranging as royal commissions, some task forces have dealt with broad issues, such as housing and urban development, government information, and the structure and foreign ownership of Canadian industry. There are also departmental investigations, which can be established by departments and other agencies under statutory powers of the Inquiries Act.
Federal inquiries are limited to matters within the constitutional jurisdiction of the Parliament of Canada. They can only look at issues within provincial jurisdiction that are connected to federal jurisdiction, such as policing on-reserve, child welfare on-reserve, etcetera. The Crown in right of each province can also appoint a royal commission, although, they are not included in this list.

Royal commissions

PeriodCommission nameNicknameCommissioner/chair
1868-1870Commission to Inquire into the Present State and Probable Requirements of the Civil ServiceCivil Service CommissionJohn Langton
1869-1870Royal Commission to Inquire into the Cause and Nature of the Obstruction Offered in the North-West Territories to the Peaceable Ingress of the Honourable William McDougallDonald Alexander Smith
1870Commission to Inquire into the State of the Laws Connected with the Administration of Justice in Rupert's Land and the North-West TerritoriesFrancis Godschall Johnson
1870Royal Commission to Inquire into the Best Means for the Improvement of the Water Communications of the Dominion and the Development of the Trade with the North-Eastern Portion of North AmericaCanal CommissionHugh Allan
1873Royal Commission Relating to Canadian Pacific RailwayCharles Dewey Day, Antoine Polette and James Robert Gowan
1873Royal Commission to Inquire Into and Report Upon Claims to Rights of Cutting Hay and Common in the Province of ManitobaJohn Farquhar Bain and Joseph Dubuc
1873-1874Royal Commission to Inquire Into the Cause of the High Springs Floods Which Occur in the St. Lawrence River between the Cities of Quebec and MontrealJohn Dickinson
1874-1875Royal Commission on Prohibitory Liquor LawF. Davis
1876-1878Royal Commission to Inquire Into Conflicting Claims of Lands of Occupants in ManitobaAlexander Morris
1879-1880Royal Commission to Inquire Into Changes Affecting the Administration of Justice in the North-West TerritoriesEdgar Dewdney
1880-1882Royal Commission to Inquire Into Matters Connected with the Canadian Pacific RailwayCanadian Pacific Railway Royal CommissionGeorge McKenzie Clark
1880-1882Royal Commission to Inquire into the Organization of the Civil Service CommissionDonald McInnes
1882-1884Royal Commission to Inquire Into Certain Claims Connected with the Construction of the Intercolonial RailwayGeorge McKenzie Clark
1885Royal Commission on Chinese ImmigrationJoseph Adolphe Chapleau and John Hamilton Gray
1885Royal Commission to Inquire Into the Enumeration of Half-Breeds in the North-West TerritoriesWilliam Purvis Rochfort Street
1886-1887Royal Commission into Claims for Compensation for Loss or Damage Arising Out of the Late Half-breed and Indian Insurrection in the North-West TerritoriesJ. Alphonse Ouimet
1886-1887Royal Commission on the Leasing of Water-Power on the Lachine CanalEtienne H. Parent
1886-1887Royal Commission to Inquire into and Report upon the Enumeration of Half-Breeds in the North-West Territories Outside of ManitobaRoger Goulet
1886-1888Royal Commission on RailwaysAlexander Tilloch Galt
1886-1889Royal Commission on the Relations of Labour and CapitalJames S. Armstrong and Augustus Toplady Freed
1891-1892Royal Commission on Civil ServiceGeorge Hague
1892Royal Commission in Reference to Certain Charges Made Against the Honourable Sir. A.P. Caron, K.C.M.G.Adolphe Basile Routhier and Melbourne McTaggart Tait
1895Royal Commission on the Liquor Traffic in CanadaJoseph Hickson
1898-1899Royal Commission on Lobster IndustryEdward Ernest Prince
1899-1900Royal Commission on the Shipment and Transportation of GrainAlbert Elswood Richards and Edmund John Senkler
1900-1902Royal Commission on Chinese and Japanese ImmigrationRoger Conger Clute
1901Royal Commission to Investigate Charges Made Against Grain Inspectors at MontrealDavid Horn
1902-1903Royal Commission on the Tobacco TradeDuncan Byron MacTavish
1903Royal Commission to Investigate Industrial Disputes in the Province of British ColumbiaGordon Hunter
1903-1906Royal Commission on TransportationRobert Redford
1904-1905Royal Commission on Italian ImmigrationJohn Winchester
1904-1905Royal Commission to Investigate Alleged Employment of Aliens in Connection with the Surveys of the Proposed Grand Trunk Pacific RailwayJohn Winchester
1905Royal Commission to Investigate Alleged Employment of Aliens by the Père Marquette Railway Company in CanadaJohn Winchester
1906-1907Royal Commission on Life InsuranceDuncan Byron MacTavish
1906-1908Royal Commission on the Grain Trade of CanadaJohn Millar
1907Royal Commission on a Dispute Respecting Hours of Employment Between the Bell Telephone Company of Canada, Ltd., and Operators at Toronto, Ont.William Lyon Mackenzie King
1907-1908Royal Commission Appointed to Investigate Methods by Which Oriental Labourers Have Been Induced to Come to CanadaWilliam Lyon Mackenzie King
1907-1908Royal Commission on the Civil ServiceJohn Mortimer Courtney
1907-1908Royal Commission on the Quebec Bridge InquiryHenry Holgate
1907-1908Royal Commission Regarding Losses Sustained by the Japanese Population of Vancouver, British Columbia, on the Occasion of the Riots in that City in September, 1907William Lyon Mackenzie King
1908Royal Commission to Investigate Losses by the Chinese Population of Vancouver, British Columbia, on the Occasion of the Riots in That City in September, 1907William Lyon Mackenzie King
1908-1909Royal Commission on Cotton Factories Industrial DisputesWilliam Lyon Mackenzie King
1910-1913Royal Commission on Industrial Training and Technical EducationJames Wilson Robertson
1912Royal Commission of Inquiry in the Matter of the Farmers' Bank of CanadaWilliam Ralph Meredith
1912-1913Royal Commission on Weighing of Butter and CheeseRobert Alexander Pringle
1912-1914Royal Commission on the Records of the Public DepartmentsJoseph Pope
1913Royal Commission to Investigate Coal-Mining Disputes on Vancouver IslandSamuel Price
1913-1914Royal Commission to Investigate the State and Management of the Kingston PenitentiaryGeorge Milnes Macdonnell
1913-1916Royal Commission on Indian AffairsThe McKenna–McBride CommissionNathaniel Whitworth White
1914-18Royal Commission on Georgian Bay CanalWilliam Sanford Evans
1915-1917Royal Commission to Inquire into the Purchase by and on Behalf of the Government of the Dominion of Canada, of Arms, Munitions, Implements, Materials, Horses, Supplies, and other things for the Purchase of the Present Warmission Concerning Purchase of War Supplies and Sale of Small Arms AmmunitionCharles Peers Davidson
1916Royal Commission Appointed to Inquire Into Certain Contracts Made by the Shell CommitteeWilliam Ralph Meredith
1916Royal Commission re Parliament Buildings Fire at Ottawa, February 3, 1916Duncan Byron MacTavish and Robert Abercrombie Pringle
1916Royal Commission to Inquire Into and Report Upon the Conditions in Regard to the Delivery of Cargoes of Coal to Coasting Vessels in the Maritime ProvincesWilfred Eddy Tupper
1916-1917Royal Commission to Inquire into Railways and Transportation in CanadaAlfred Holland Smith
1917-1918Royal Commission on NewsprintRobert Abercrombie Pringle
1918Royal Commission Appointed to Enquire into Differences Between Metal Contract Shops and Automobile Repair Shops at Winnipeg, and Certain of Their EmployeesThomas Graham Mathers
1918Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Shipyards in VancouverEdward Burns
1918Royal Commission to Inquire into the Alleged Unrest Existing in the Shipbuilding Industry in the Province of QuebecFarquhar Stuart MacLennan
1918-1919Royal Commission on Conditions in the Pilotage Districts of Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo and New WestminsterThomas Robb
1918-1919Royal Commission on the Pilotage Districts of Miramichi, Sydney, Louisbourg, Halifax, St. John, Montreal and QuebecThomas Robb
1919Royal Commission on Industrial RelationsThe Mathers CommissionThomas Graham Mathers
1919-1920Royal Commission in Racing InquiryJohn Gunion Rutherford
1919-1922Royal Commission on the Possibilities of the Reindeer and Musk-ox Industries in the Arctic and Subarctic RegionsJohn Gunion Rutherford
1920Royal Commission to Investigate the Dispute Between Members of the General Cartage and Warehousemen's Association of British Columbia and Certain of Their EmployeesWilliam H. Vance
1921-1928Royal Commission on Reparation ClaimsJames Friel
1922Royal Commission on British Columbia FisheriesWilliam Duff
1922-1924Royal Commission on Pensions and Re-establishmentJames Layton Ralston
1923Royal Commission on Great Lakes Grain RatesSimon James McLean
1923Royal Commission to Inquire Into Industrial Unrest Among the Steel Workers at Sydney, N.S.James Wilson Robertson
1923-1924Royal Commission on PulpwoodJoseph Picard
1923-1925Royal Grain Inquiry CommissionWilliam Ferdinand Alphonse Turgeon
1924Royal Commission to Inquire into and Report upon Affairs of the Home Bank of Canada and in the Matter of the Petition of the Depositors in the said Home Bank of CanadaRoyal Commission re Home BankHarrison Andrew McKeown
1926Royal Commission on Maritime ClaimsThe Duncan CommissionAndrew Rae Duncan
1926-1928Royal Commission on Customs and Excise inquiryJames Thomas Brown and Francois Xavier Lemieux
1927-1928Royal Commission on Reconveyance of Land to British ColumbiaWilliam Melville Martin
1927-1928Royal Commission to Investigate Charges of Political Partisanship in the Department of Soldiers' Civil Re-establishmentAlfred Taylour Hunter
1927-1928Royal Commission to Investigate the Fisheries of the Maritime Provinces and the Magdalen IslandsAlexander Kenneth Maclean
1928-1929Royal Commission on Radio BroadcastingThe Aird CommissionJohn Aird
1928-1929Royal Commission on the Transfer of the Natural Resources of ManitobaWilliam Ferdinand Alphonse Turgeon
1929-1930Royal Commission on Technical and Professional ServicesEdward Wentworth Beatty
1930-1933Royal Commission on ReparationsErrol Malcolm William McDougall
1931Royal Commission to Inquire into Trading in Grain FuturesJosiah Stamp
1931-1932Royal Commission to Inquire into Railways and Transportation in CanadaLyman Poore Duff
1933Royal Commission on Banking and CurrencyThe Macmillan CommissionHugh Pattison Macmillan
1933-1935Royal Commission on the Natural Resources of SaskatchewanAndrew Knox Dysart
1934-1935Royal Commission on Financial Arrangements Between the Dominion and the Maritime ProvincesThomas White
1934-1935Royal Commission on Price SpreadsWilliam Walker Kennedy
1934-1935Royal Commission on the Natural Resources of AlbertaAndrew Knox Dysart
1935Royal Commission Appointed to Investigate the Activities of the Canadian Performing Rights Society, Limited, and Similar SocietiesJames Parker
1935Royal Commission on Certain Allegations Made by Honourable P.J. Veniot, M.P.John Babinton Macaulay Baxter
1935Royal Commission on Relief Camps, British ColumbiaWilliam Alexander Macdonald
1936-1937Royal Commission on Anthracite CoalHenry Marshall Tory
1936-1938Royal Commission on the Textile IndustryWilliam Ferdinand Alphonse Turgeon
1936-1938Royal Commission to Investigate the Penal System of CanadaThe Archambault CommissionJoseph Archambault
1936-1938Royal Grain Inquiry CommissionWilliam Ferdinand Alphonse Turgeon
1937–1940Royal Commission on Dominion-Provincial RelationsThe Rowell-Sirois CommissionJoseph Sirois and Newton Rowell
1938-1939Royal Commission on the Bren Machine Gun ContractHenry Hague Davis
1939-1940Royal Commission on Salmon Fishing in British ColumbiaGordon McGregor Sloan
1941Royal Commission to Inquire Into the Events Which Occurred at Arvida, Quebec, in July, 1941William Langley Bond and Séverin Létourneau
1941-1942Royal Commission on Shipbuilding in the Provinces of Ontario and QuebecLéon Mercier Gouin
1942Royal Commission on Wage Rates in Steel Plants at Sault Ste Marie, Ontario and Sydney, N.S.F. H. Barlow
1942Royal Commission to Inquire into and Report upon the Organization, Authorization and Dispatch of the Canadian Expeditionary Force to the Crown Colony of Hong KongLyman Poore Duff
1942Royal Commission to Inquire into the Most Effective Methods to Secure Maximum Production in the Shipyards of British ColumbiaStephen Ellswood Richards
1943Royal Commission to Investigate the Demands of the Coal Miners of Western CanadaG. B. O'Connor
1944-1945Royal Commission on Co-operativesErrol Malcolm William McDougall
1944-1945Royal Commission on Taxation of Annuities and Family CorporationsWilliam Carlos Ives
1944-1946Royal Commission on CoalW. F. Carroll
1945Royal Commission on the Halifax Disorders, May 7th-8th, 1945Roy Lindsay Kellock
1945Royal Commission on Veterans' QualificationsWilfred Bovey
1946Royal Commission on Administrative Classifications in the Public ServiceWalter Lockhart Gordon
1946Royal Commission to Investigate the Facts Relating to and the Circumstances Surrounding the Communication by the Public Officials and Other Persons in Positions of Trust of Secret and Confidential Information to Agents of Foreign PowerRobert Taschereau
1946Royal Commission to Investigate the Facts Relating to and the Circumstances Surrounding the Communication, by Public Officials and Other Persons in Positions of Trust, of Secret and Confidential Information to Agents of a Foreign PowerThe Kellock-Taschereau CommissionRoy Kellock and Robert Taschereau
1947-1950Royal Commission to Investigate Property Claims of Canadian Citizens of Japanese Origin Evacuated from Coast Areas of British Columbia in 1942Henry Irvine Bird
1948-1949Royal Commission on PricesClifford Austin Curtis
1948–1951Royal Commission on TransportationWilliam Ferdinand Alphonse Turgeon
1949–1951Royal Commission on National Development in the Arts, Letters and SciencesThe Massey CommissionVincent Massey
1949-1953Royal Commission on the Revision of the Criminal CodeWilliam Melville Martin
1950Royal Commission to Inquire Into the Nature and Extent of the Damage Caused by the 1950 Floods in the Red River Valley in ManitobaJohn B. Carswell and Donald B. Shaw
1950Royal Commission to Inquire Into, Review and Report Upon the Rentals Payable Under the Leases in the Townsites and Subdivisions of Banff and JasperHarry O. Patriquin
1950-1951Royal Commission to Inquire into the Nature and Extent of the Damage Caused by the Recent Fires in the Towns of Rimouski and Cabano in the Province of QuebecEdouard Laurent
1951-1952Royal Commission on the South Saskatchewan River ProjectThomas Henry Hogg
1954Royal Commission to Inquire into, Review and Report on the Administration of Quartz Mining and Placer Mining in the Yukon TerritoryGeorge Edwards Cole
1954-1955Royal Commission on Agreed ChargesWilliam Ferdinand Alphonse Turgeon
1954-1956Royal Commission on the Law of Insanity as a Defence in Criminal CasesJames Chalmers McRuer
1954-1958Royal Commission on the Criminal Law Relating to Criminal Sexual Psychopaths
1954–1960Royal Commission on Patents, Copyright and Industrial DesignsThe Ilsley CommissionJ. L. Ilsley
1955-1957Royal Commission on BroadcastingThe Fowler CommissionRobert MacLaren Fowler
1955-1957Royal Commission on Canada's Economic ProspectsThe Gordon CommissionWalter Lockhart Gordon
1955-1957Royal Commission on Coasting TradeWishart Flett Spence
1957-1958Royal Commission on Employment of Firemen on Diesel Locomotives in Freight and Yard Service on the Canadian Pacific RailwayRoy Lindsay Kellock
1957-1958Royal Commission on Newfoundland FinancesJohn Babbitt McNair
1957–1959Royal Commission on EnergyThe Borden CommissionHenry Borden
1957-1960Royal Commission on Price Spreads of Food ProductsAndrew Stewart
1958-1959Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Distribution of Railway Box CarsJohn Bracken
1959Royal Commission to Investigate the Unfulfilled Provisions of Treaties 8 and 11 as they Apply to the Indians of the Mackenzie DistrictWalter H. Nelson
1959-1960Royal Commission on CoalIvan Cleveland Rand
1959-1960Royal Commission on the Great Slave Lake RailwayMarshall E. Manning
1959-1962Royal Commission on TransportationThe MacPherson CommissionMurdoch Alexander MacPherson
1960Royal Commission to Inquire Into Complaints Received Concerning Certain Activities of Station CHEK-TV, Victoria, British ColumbiaAndrew Stewart
1960-1961Royal Commission on PublicationsThe O'Leary CommissionMichael Grattan O'Leary
1960-1961Royal Commission on the Automotive IndustryVincent Wheeler Bladen
1960–1963Royal Commission on Government OrganizationThe Glassco CommissionJ. Grant Glassco
1961-1964Royal Commission on Banking and FinanceDana Harris Porter
1961-1964Royal Commission on Health ServicesThe Hall CommissionEmmett M. Hall
1962–1966Royal Commission on TaxationThe Carter CommissionKenneth LeMesurier Carter
1962-1971Royal Commission on PilotageYves Bernier
1963–1970Royal Commission on Bilingualism and BiculturalismThe Laurendeau-Dunton CommissionArnold Davidson Dunton and André Laurendeau
1965-1966Royal Commission of Inquiry Into Working Conditions in the Post Office DepartmentAndré Montpetit
1966Royal Commission to Inquire into the Dealings of the Honourable Mr. Justice Leo A. Landreville, with Northern Ontario Natural Gas LimitedIvan Cleveland Rand
1966-1969Royal Commission on SecurityThe Mackenzie CommissionMaxwell Weir Mackenzie
1966-1971Royal Commission on Farm MachineryClarence Lyle Barber
1967–1970Royal Commission on the Status of WomenThe Bird CommissionFlorence Bird
1970-1971Royal Commission Inquiry and Formal Investigation into the Circumstances Surrounding the Grounding of the Steam Tanker ArrowGordon L. S. Hart
1974-1976Royal Commission on the Health and Safety of Workers in MinesThe Ham CommissionJames Milton Ham
1975–1978Royal Commission on Corporate ConcentrationRobert B. Bryce
1976-1979Royal Commission on Financial Management and AccountabilityAllen Thomas Lambert
1980-1981Royal Commission on Conditions of Foreign ServicePamela A. McDougall
1980-1981Royal Commission on NewspapersThe Kent CommissionThomas Woralla Kent
1982–1985Royal Commission on the Economic Union and Development Prospects for CanadaThe MacDonald CommissionDonald S. MacDonald
1982–1985Royal Commission on the Ocean Ranger Marine DisasterT. Alex Hickman
1984-1986Royal Commission on Seals and the Sealing Industry in CanadaAlbert H. Malouf
1988-1992Royal Commission on the Future of the Toronto WaterfrontThe Crombie CommissionDavid Crombie
1989-1992Royal Commission on National Passenger TransportationThe Hyndman CommissionLouis D. Hyndman
1989–1993Royal Commission on New Reproductive TechnologiesThe Baird CommissionPatricia Baird
1991Royal Commission on Electoral Reform and Party FinancingThe Lortie CommissionPierre Lortie
1991–1996Royal Commission on Aboriginal PeoplesRené Dussault and Georges Erasmus