Communication Canada was an agency of the

Department of Public Works and Government Services Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in the

Government of Canada The Government of Canada (), formally His Majesty's Government (), is the body responsible for the federation, federal administration of Canada. The term ''Government of Canada'' refers specifically to the executive, which includes Minister of t ...

. Its responsibility was primarily for keeping federal government departments and their agencies connected with Canadian citizens. Responsibility for developing the federal government's web presence and primary web site rested with Communication Canada. The agency was created in the mid-1990s following the

1995 Quebec referendum The 1995 Quebec referendum was the second referendum to ask voters in the predominantly French-speaking Canadian province of Quebec whether Quebec should proclaim sovereignty and become an independent country, with the condition precedent of ...

, ostensibly to promote federal government communications with all of Canada; however, many Canadians viewed it as a government

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

agency. Communication Canada became linked to the

Sponsorship Scandal The sponsorship scandal, AdScam or Sponsorgate, was a scandal in Canada that came as a result of a federal government " sponsorship program" in the province of Quebec involving the Liberal Party of Canada, which was in power from 1993 to 2006. ...

and was disbanded in a federal government reorganization at the end of the fiscal year, effective March 31, 2004. Communication Canada was accountable to its Executive Director, who reported to the Chair of the Cabinet Committee on Government Communications and there was a Minister Responsible for Communication Canada. On April 1, 2004, the agency was disbanded and its responsibilities divided among the Department of Public Works and Government Services and the Privy Council Office. Communications Canada was created in 1969 as the Department of Communications and was headed by the Minister of Communications. It was disbanded in 1995 with its responsibilities for telecommunications going to Industry Canada and culture going to Canadian Heritage.

References

Former Canadian federal departments and agencies {{Canada-gov-stub