The story
Origins
During the Second World War, 28 Crown corporations were created partially in response to the demand for supplies at a level required for the war effort which was beyond the capacity available from the private sector. These Crown corporations were managed by the Department of Munitions and Supply, the successor of the short-lived War Supply Board. As Canada transitioned into peacetime, the creation of Crown corporations was one tactic used to stabilize production of essential commodities while the labour force adjusted to the post-war environment. While the wartime Crown corporations were largely terminated, the agencies in areas of government interest such as weapons production and housing were retained.
In December 1945, the Department of Munitions and Supply was merged with the Department of Reconstruction to become the new Department of Reconstruction and Supply. The CCC was established in 1946 to coordinate the sales and export of Canadian defence products to foreign governments. The responsibility for defence procurement and production was assumed by the new department. By 1948, the Canadian federal government decentralized and separated out the responsibilities for defence procurement and production on account of the reduction in defence spending during peacetime. Production responsibility was transferred to the Industrial Defence Board in April 1948, while procurement responsibility was transferred to the CCC between November and December 1948. By March 1949, both the Industrial Defence Board and CCC were under the authority of the Department of Trade and Commerce.
Rearmament in the 1950s
The increasing tension from the Cold War, the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the outbreak of the Korean War led to the Canadian federal government needing to increase defence budgets and to begin increasing defence production. The Defense Supplies Act in 1950 gave the Department of Trade and Commerce the authority to carry out defence procurement activities but was replaced in 1951 in response to the escalation of the Korean War and continuing friction with the Soviet Union. The Defence Production Act reorganized defence procurement and defence production into a single centralized Department of Defence Production (DDP). The DDP did not take over the responsibility for the export of Canadian defence products from CCC, instead it replaced the Department of Trade and Commerce in an oversight capacity. In addition to CCC, seven other Crown corporations reported to Parliament through the DDP: Canadian Arsenals Limited; Crown Assets Disposal Corporation; Defence Construction (1951) Limited; Eldorado Mining and Refining Limited; Northern Transportation Company Limited; and Polymer Corporation Limited.
Foreign aid and aerospace focus in the 1960s and 1970s
Post-war focus in the 1960s saw CCC focus on delivering in-kind foreign aid in response to natural disasters and famine around the world. In 1960, at the request of Canada's Department of External Affairs, CCC purchased 9,800 tons of flour for earthquake relief in Chile and another 28,300 tons for Lebanon and Egypt following unrest in those countries. CCC also sent tens of thousands of tons of flour to Norway and the United Kingdom as part of a NATO collaboration.
Also in 1960, CCC signed a Letter of Agreement (LOA) with NASA which set out the terms and conditions for CCC to act as prime contractor for material and technologies from Canada. Some of Canada's first contributions were for a "Minitrack" Satellite Tracking Station as well as the design and fabrication of a prototype erectable antenna unit.
Later in the 1960s, CCC managed orders for both tactical and fighter aircraft to the U.S., and tactical ground support aircraft to the Netherlands.
In 1979, the CCC-NASA LOA laid the groundwork for the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (SRMS) (now commonly known as the Canadarm) to be contracted through CCC by Spar Aerospace Limited of Toronto. For 30 years, NASA's Space Shuttle program used the remote-controlled mechanical arm to deploy, capture and repair satellites, position astronauts, maintain equipment, and move cargo.
During the period from the 1960s and 1970s, responsibility for CCC was transferred to the Department of Supply and Services in 1969 and subsequently to the Department of Industry, Trade and Commerce in 1978.
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Contracting with established and emerging economies: 1980s-present
CCC has facilitated a number of contracts between Canadian exporters and foreign governments since the 1980s. In addition to its focus on U.S. defence contracting, CCC has brokered government to government contracts with emerging economies. In 1982, CCC won contracts with the World Health Organization to spray rivers in Africa to help control disease, with UNICEF for a measles vaccine plant in Pakistan, and with the Foundation Company of Canada to build a hospital in the Ivory Coast. From the 1980s to present day, CCC has facilitated government to government contracts and signed memorandums of understanding with a number of emerging economies around the world.
In 2017, the government of Bermuda entered into a contract with CCC on behalf of the Canadian Government and Canada's Aecon. The Public Private Partnership included the construction of a new airport terminal building and a 30-year lease at the L.F. Wade International Airport. The 288,000 square foot was officially completed in 2020.
In March 2021, the Kpone Unity Terminal was handed over to the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority upon completion of a five-year project funded through a US$126 million loan procured from the Canadian Commercial Corporation. The Kpone Unity terminal was originally designed to serve as an off-dock terminal for devanning activities from the Port of Tema.
In October 2022, CCC worked with General Dynamics Mission Systems–Canada to secure a $24 million government to government contract with the Portuguese Air Force to help modernize its fleet of P-3C aircraft. That same month, it was revealed that the Philippines would be the first market to implement Canada's government to government CANbuild infrastructure framework—a consolidated exporter service offered by CCC, Canada's Trade Commissioner Service and Export Development Canada.
Responsibility for CCC has been transferred several times in the last few decades, including the Secretary of State for External Affairs (1982), the Minister of International Trade (1987), the Minister of Supply and Services (1992), and back to the Minister of International Trade (1996). Since the 2019 federal election, Canada's international trade portfolio, including responsibility for CCC, is now overseen by the Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade.
From Wikipedia’s article on Canadian Commercial Corporation, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.5