Commissionaires Canada marked a century of service and dedication on July 25, 2025. Established in 1925 to provide purposeful employment for veterans of the First World War, the organization has evolved into one of the nation’s most trusted security providers. With a workforce that includes around 3,500 veterans, it is Canada’s largest veteran employer.
In 1859, Captain Sir Edward Walter founded the British Corps of Commissionaires in London to employ wounded Crimean War veterans. In 1915, H.R.H. Prince Arthur proposed a Canadian equivalent, which was formally established in Montréal on July 25, 1925. By 1927, branches opened in Montréal, Toronto, and Vancouver. The Corps expanded in 1947 to include former RCMP members, and in 1950, following Newfoundland’s Confederation entry, established a presence there completing its national footprint.
In the years that followed, the Corps’ workforce evolved. Female veterans and first responders were welcomed as commissionaires. In the 1990s, the Corps also began employing non-veterans to meet the rising demand for security services.
Today, amid rapid growth and change, Commissionaires remains a not-for-profit with a social mandate, “to provide meaningful employment that meets the needs of veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, their families and others who wish to contribute to the security and well-being of Canadians.”
“The Centennial is a celebration of our history and recognition of a powerful founding purpose,” Gord Winkel, Commissionaires National Board Chair stated in a press release. “Commissionaires was founded to serve those who served, and that commitment remains at the heart of everything we do. We are proud to carry that legacy forward as we support the changing needs of veterans and Canadian communities.”
Commissionaires continues to evolve from its traditional services such as guarding, to now offering integrated services such as cybersecurity, surveillance, alarm response, fingerprinting, and background screening.
To mark the anniversary, special events have been planned over the year including a commemorative dinner held in March and an evening hosted during the company’s Annual Meeting of Divisions in June with Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada in attendance.
Other celebratory activities include flag-raising ceremonies at city halls, participation in various community parades, the illumination of the CN Tower and the Provencher Bridge in Commissionaires orange and blue on July 25.
