Specially struck coins have been in production for use in (what is now) Canada, since 1858.
Originally, those coins were struck at the Royal Mint in England.
As Canada came to develop into its own country, demand for coins increased to the point where producing them in Canada became viable.
In 1908, the Royal Mint opened its first official branch in Ottawa, Canada, where it immediately began producing Canadian coins.
In 1931, at the time of The Great Depression, the branch of the Royal Mint in Ottawa was able to negotiate it’s separation from the Royal Mint, and the Canadian Royal Mint was officially formed.
44 years later, in 1976, demand both domestic and international for coinage from The Royal Canadian Mint had grown so much that the existing facility in Ottawa simply could not keep. A 2nd, additional facility was opened in Winnipeg to help increase capacity.
These days, the Winnipeg facility is responsible for all of the coin production for other countries, while the original Ottawa facility handles the domestic side.
