A vibrant democracy, with vigorous debate and discussion, helps healthy communities thrive. CIBC strongly supports the development of sound public policy, and we work to facilitate open dialogue regarding Canada’s politics and policies.
Fostering discussion on public policy
CIBC supports public policy organizations, such as the CD Howe Institute, the Public Policy Forum, the Couchiching Institute on Public Affairs, Canada 2020, Equal Voice, and the Conference Board of Canada. We have committed $1 million to the Conference Board to fund innovative public policy research on a variety of topics from the sustainability of Canada’s health care system to northern Canada’s land claims settlement process. CIBC executives and economists often participate in these dialogues to share the bank’s unique experience and expertise for the benefit of the policy process.
We actively encourage young Canadians to get involved in the political process through sponsorships of the Forum for Young Canadians, the Queen’s Park Legislative Internship Program, the Jamie Anderson Parliamentary Internship Program, and the Parliamentary Internship Program at the House of Commons.
As a member of the highly regulated financial services industry, we meet with regulators, officials and elected politicians. These meetings are in full compliance and within the framework of federal and provincial lobbying legislation.
Political contributions
CIBC supports and values the political process in Canada, and in that spirit we make financial contributions to various political parties across the country.
In Canada, federal laws prohibit donations from corporations, trade unions and associations to federal political parties or candidates. Our political donations policy ensures we remain in full compliance with these regulations.
Provincially, CIBC makes financial contributions to political parties in the seven provinces where corporate donations are permitted by law. These contributions are often made to government, opposition and other third parties as appropriate.
Employee political involvement
We respect and encourage the desire of CIBC employees to actively participate in Canada’s political process, but we also want to ensure that CIBC does not implicitly or explicitly endorse any particular political party or candidate. We therefore offer employees a non-paid leave of absence to seek nomination or candidacy for political office, and prohibit them from carrying out political activities using CIBC resources.
