The Government of Canada issues bonds with maturities ranging from 2 to 30 years. Offerings of new securities are determined by the financing needs of the government. This market shares many of the characteristics of its U.S. Treasury counterpart. Issues are reopened as often as needed in order to meet benchmark objectives.
Most bonds settle in book-based form but can be registered upon request.
All trading takes place in the OTC market. Most Canadas have bullet maturities. A few bonds issued in the 1970s have purchase funds which allow the government to buy a small portion of the issue if it is trading below a predetermined price unique to each bond. Real return bonds were introduced in December 1991 and are currently issued once a quarter. These bonds have the principal and coupon payments linked to the consumer price index.