Donald Trump mistakes Bank of Canada for retail bank

President spoke about Crown corporation when asked about Canadian tourism

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday implied the Bank of Canada was a commercial bank with locations south of the border, not a Crown corporation that exists solely up north.

The president made the claim at an Oval Office event with travel executives, repeating his longstanding belief that Canada takes economic advantage of the U.S.

"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, having been asked a question about the decline in Canadian tourism.

"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."

The Bank of Canada is not a commercial bank for everyday citizens looking to open accounts or make transactions and does not operate in the U.S. It is a Crown corporation that oversees banking services on behalf of the federal government.

The bank also sets interest rates. On Wednesday, it held its benchmark interest rate steady at 2.25 per cent as the governor warned inflation was on the rise.

Trump has previously claimed U.S. banks for the public are not allowed to operate in Canada, but the assertion is false.

Is Trump lying about U.S. banks not being allowed in Canada? | About That

Several U.S. financial institutions have operations in Canada. They fall under the Schedule 2 category (foreign-owned banks with Canadian subsidiaries), and they include JPMorganChase, which has about 600 employees on this side of the border, and Citibank, which has operated in Canada for more than a century.

U.S. banks do face tough competition from Canada's highly concentrated banking industry. The big six domestic banks — Royal Bank, Bank of Montreal, Scotiabank, CIBC, TD Bank and National Bank — account for the vast majority of total bank assets.

Canada's Big Six fall under the Schedule 1 category — meaning they must be Canadian-owned institutions that take deposits. Any American bank that wanted to buy a major Canadian bank would face these and other restrictions.

With files from Jenna Benchetrit