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Canadian Documents Gallery

National Revenue

Photograph of Peter Robinson standing in front of the Customs House, Prince Rupert, B.C., 1910

Peter Robinson standing in front of the Customs House, Prince Rupert, B.C., 1910
[ Source ]

The Department of National Revenue was created shortly after Confederation. It began in 1868 with the establishment of two separate departments: Customs (responsible for collecting customs duties and canal tolls) and Inland Revenue (responsible for collecting all excise duties, indirect taxes, and stamp duties).

In 1887, the ministers of Customs and of Inland Revenue were reduced to controllers. Responsibility for their departments was placed under the Department of Trade and Commerce from 1892 to 1897, once again elevating them to full departmental status. They were merged as Customs and Inland Revenue in 1918, which, from 1921 to 1927, was known as Customs and Excise. The collection of income tax (a responsibility of the Department of Finance since 1917) was transferred to this new body in 1924. In 1927, its name was changed to the Department of National Revenue.