The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA; ; ) is the revenue service of the Canadian federal government, and most provincial and territorial governments. The CRA collects taxes, administers tax law and policy, and delivers benefit programs and tax credits. Legislation administered by the CRA includes the Income Tax Act, parts of the Excise Tax Act, and parts of laws relating to the Canada Pension Plan, employment insurance (EI), tariffs and duties. The agency also oversees the registration of charities in Canada, and enforces much of the country's tax laws.
From 1867 to 1999, tax services and programs were administered by the Department of National Revenue, otherwise known as Revenue Canada. In 1999, Revenue Canada was reorganized into the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA). In 2003, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) was created out of the CCRA, leading to customs being dropped from the agency's mandate and the agency's current name.
The CRA is the largest organization in the Canadian federal public service by number of personnel, employing 54,933 people and has an operating budget of $5.1 billion as of the 2018–19 fiscal year. The agency's headquarters are based in Ottawa, itself divided into five program branches, which directly support the CRA's core responsibilities, and seven corporate branches, which deliver internal services within the organization. The CRA also has operations throughout the rest of Canada, including 4 Tax Centres (TCs), 3 National Verifications and Collections Centres (NVCCs), and 25 Tax Services Offices (TSOs), organized into four regions: Atlantic, Ontario, Quebec, and Western.
During the 2017 tax year, the CRA collected approximately $430 billion in revenue on behalf of federal and provincial governments, and administered nearly $34 billion in benefits to Canadians.
The CRA is responsible to Parliament through the minister of national revenue (currently François-Philippe Champagne since May 2025). The day-to-day operations of the Agency are overseen by the Commissioner of Revenue (Heather Evans since June 2026).
History
Prior to Confederation, the collection of taxes and customs duties was the responsibility of the Department of Customs in each of the British North American colonies. In 1867, Parliament enacted legislation which established two separate departments, Inland Revenue, and Customs. Until end of World War I, the majority of federal revenue came from customs and excise duties, but as the war effort placed increasing pressure on government finances, the Borden government introduced a personal income tax in 1917. While intended to be a temporary measure at first, the federal government has since continued to levy personal income taxes, and are now the largest source of revenue for the federal government. Both Inland Revenue and Customs were eventually merged into a single department, Customs and Excise, between 1918 and 1927.
In 1927, the Department of National Revenue Act was enacted by Parliament, which changed the name of the department from Customs and Excise to National Revenue, while retaining its earlier mandate. The Department of National Revenue would gain increasing responsibility as new social programs, such as the Canada Pension Plan, and new streams of revenue, such as the Goods and Services Tax (GST) were gradually introduced over the latter half of the 20th century. In 1993, EFILE was first made available to Canadian taxpayers wishing to submit their taxes electronically.
In 1999, the Chrétien government introduced legislation that would transform Revenue Canada from a department to a new agency, the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency. This change was intended to reduce duplication in tax administration, streamline services to Canadians, and provide the tax administration with more flexibility in corporate planning, and in forming relationships with provincial, territorial, and Indigenous governments. The CCRA was given a broad mandate that covered taxation, customs, and border protection. This arrangement only lasted until December 2003, when the Canada Border Services Agency was spun off from the CCRA due to issues relating to interdepartmental collaboration between the CCRA, Citizenship and Immigration Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency on border protection and immigration enforcement.
Following the CBSA spin-off, the CCRA was rebranded as the Canada Revenue Agency, with its strategic direction pivoting towards enforcing compliance with Canada's tax laws and delivering benefits to Canadians. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the CRA joined several other government departments in transitioning to temporary remote work arrangements. The CRA also extended deadlines for filing returns and payments for the 2019 tax year. The agency was also tasked with delivering emergency financial benefits to Canadians on behalf of the federal government, processing millions of applications through its IT systems.
Structure
Leadership
The CRA is led by the Minister of National Revenue and the Commissioner of Revenue, who functions as the Agency's chief executive officer (CEO).
Minister of National Revenue The Minister is accountable to Parliament and Cabinet for the CRA's operations, and in matters pertaining to tax and benefit administration in Canada. The current Minister is François-Philippe Champagne, who was appointed on May 13, 2025.
Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer
The Commissioner is the CRA's CEO. The Commissioner manages the day-to-day operations of the Agency, and advises the Minister on the duties and functions of the CRA as prescribed by legislation. The current Commissioner is Heather Evans, who was appointed to the position on June 23, 2026.
The Commissioner is supported by the Deputy Commissioner, who fulfils specific duties and assignments provided to them by the Commissioner, and acts for the Commissioner in the event of absence or incapacity. The current Deputy Commissioner is Jean-François Fortin, who was appointed to the position on May 6, 2024. +List of CRA Commissioners and date of appointmentNameDate appointedHeather EvansJune 23, 2026Jean-François FortinMarch 31, 2026Bob HamiltonAugust 1, 2016Andrew TreuschJanuary 14, 2013Linda Lizotte-MacPhersonOctober 13, 2009William BakerApril 2, 2007Michael DoraisDecember 20, 2004Alan NymarkJune 2, 2003Robert A. WrightNovember 1, 1999
Board of Management The Minister and Commissioner are supported by the Board of Management. The Board of Management consists of 15 members appointed by the Governor in Council, of which 11 are appointed by the provinces and territories, 2 by the federal government, with the remaining seat filled by the Commissioner of Revenue, who is an ex-officio member of the Board. Board members are typically appointed for a term of three years. The Board oversees the development the CRA's Corporate Business Plan each year, which sets out objectives, performance expectations, and financial allocations within the Agency.
The Board of Management is divided into four committees, Audit, Governance and Social Responsibility, Human Resources, and Resources, and one subcommittee, Service Transformation. These committees allow for a detailed review of items brought before the board, and establish work plans for their respective activities each year.
The Board of Management is not directly involved with the CRA's business operations. As such, it cannot enforce or interpret legislation on behalf of the Agency, and does not have access to taxpayer information.
Advisory committees The CRA maintains four advisory committees to assist it in operational planning and decision-making as it relates to different sectors or issues. Advisory committees consist of tax professionals, lawyers, accountants, and community leaders that help the agency improve its service delivery within a specific area. The current advisory committees are as follows:
Advisory Committee on the Charitable Sector Audit File Resolution Committee Disability Advisory Committee Offshore Compliance Advisory Committee
Headquarters
The CRA's headquarters are located in Ottawa, and is responsible for several agency-wide functions, including ministerial reporting, corporate planning, human resources, information technology, communications, and interpreting tax legislation. Headquarters is divided into five program branches, which help deliver the Agency's core mandate around tax and benefits administration, and seven corporate branches, which deliver services that support the day-to-day operations of the CRA. + List of CRA branchesProgramCorporate Appeals Assessment, Benefit, and Service Collections and Verification Compliance Programs Legislative Policy and Regulatory Affairs Audit, Evaluation, and Risk Finance and Administration Human Resources Information Technology Public Affairs Legal Services Service, Innovation, and Integration
Regions
Outside of its headquarters, the CRA's operations across Canada are divided into four regions, which help to carry out the agency's operations in different regions of the country. Each region is headed by an Assistant Commissioner, who oversees activities in their region, including that of tax centres (TCs) and tax services offices (TSOs) in their area of responsibility.
Atlantic Ontario Quebec Western
Tax centres (TC) Tax centres are responsible for intaking and processing individual and business tax returns. There are four tax centres located across Canada, each assigned their own geographic areas of responsibility, which may vary depending on the type of return:
Jonquière Tax Centre (Quebec) Prince Edward Island Tax Centre (Atlantic) Sudbury Tax Centre (Ontario) Winnipeg Tax Centre (Prairie & Pacific)
Tax services offices (TSO) Tax services offices are field offices which handle more complex audit and collection files for the agency, generally those which involve direct interaction with taxpayers. While TSOs are present in every province, the territories do not currently have active TSOs, and are instead under the jurisdiction of TSOs located in other parts of Canada. Tax services offices are sometimes divided into branch offices for organizational purposes.
There are twenty-five TSOs situated across Canada, and are organized as follows, with any branch offices indicated in indented bullets under the corresponding TSO where applicable: + List of CRA Tax services offices (TSOs) by provinceProvinceTax services offices (TSOs)Alberta Edmonton Southern Alberta Calgary Lethbridge Red DeerBritish Columbia Fraser Valley Surrey Southern Interior British Columbia Kelowna Penticton Vancouver Vancouver Island and North Victoria Prince GeorgeManitoba Brandon WinnipegNew Brunswick New Brunswick Bathurst Moncton Saint JohnNewfoundland and Labrador St. John'sNova Scotia Halifax SydneyOntario East Central Ontario Belleville Kingston Peterborough Hamilton Niagara Hamilton St. Catharines London-Windsor London Windsor North Central Ontario Barrie Sudbury Ottawa Toronto Centre Toronto East Toronto North Toronto West-Thunder Bay Mississauga Thunder BayQuebec Central and Southern Quebec Brossard Sherbrooke Eastern Quebec Quebec City Rimouski Montreal Western Quebec Gatineau Laval Rouyn-NorandaSaskatchewan Regina Saskatoon
National Verifications and Collections Centres (NVCC) National Verifications and Collections Centres are responsible for non-complex files related to collection, verification, and validation that do not involve in-person interaction. These new facilities were introduced by the agency in 2016 as part of an effort to modernize the Agency's services. There are three NVCCs located across Canada: St. John's NVCC Shawinigan NVCC Surrey NVCC
Northern Service Centres