Canadian Securities Administrators

The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) is an umbrella organization of Canada’s provincial and territorial securities regulators whose objective is to improve, coordinate and harmonize regulation of the Canadian capital markets.

As an informal body, the CSA functions through meetings, conference calls and day to day cooperation among the securities regulatory authorities. In 2003, the CSA was re-structured into a more formal organization. The Chair and Vice-Chair are elected by members for two year terms. In 2004, the CSA established a permanent secretariat, located in Montreal.

In recent years, the CSA has developed the “passport system" through which a market participant has access to markets in all passport jurisdictions by dealing only with its principal regulator and complying with one set of harmonized laws. While the CSA co-ordinates initiatives on a cross-Canada basis, the 10 provinces and 3 territories in Canada are responsible for securities regulations and their enforcement. This provides a more direct and efficient service since each regulator is closer to its local investors and market participants.

The CSA consists of securities regulators of the 10 provinces and 3 territories of Canada :

The CSA Chairs are the chairs of the securities regulators of the 10 provinces and 3 territories of Canada. They meet quarterly in person. A Chair and Vice-Chair of the CSA are elected by members for two year terms.

The CSA established the Policy Coordination Committee in August 2003. Its members are the Chairs of eight regulators (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Québec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia). The Policy Coordination Committee acts as a forum for timely resolution of policy development issues, monitors ongoing issues and provides recommendations to the CSA Chairs for their resolution.

The CSA established a permanent Secretariat in March 2004 in Montreal to provide the organizational stability necessary for CSA to function efficiently. The CSA Secretariat also monitors and coordinates the work of various CSA committees on policy initiatives.

The CSA IT Systems Office manages the day-to-day operations, maintenance, and enhancement of the CSA’s national systems (SEDAR, SEDI, and NRD).

The CSA brings provincial and territorial securities regulators together to share ideas and work at designing policies and regulations that are consistent across the country and ensure the smooth operation of Canada's securities industry. By collaborating on rules, regulations and other programs, the CSA helps avoid duplication of work and streamlines the regulatory process for companies seeking to raise investment capital and others working in the investment industry.

As a result of the coordination efforts of the CSA, securities markets are governed by harmonized national or multi-lateral instruments which are assigned uniform five-digit numbers, starting with a number that represents one of the nine subject matter categories:

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