History
The principal role of the Bank of Canada, as defined in the Bank of Canada Act, is "to promote the economic and financial welfare of Canada." The bank's current mission statement is:
The Bank of Canada's responsibilities focus on the goals of low and stable inflation, a safe and secure currency, financial stability, and the efficient management of government funds and public debt.
In practice, however, it has a more narrow and specific internal definition of that mandate: to keep the rate of inflation between 1% and 3%. This objective has been criticized as hurting Canada's working class, because companies tend to lay off workers when interest rates rise.
Since 1998, it has also nearly totally abandoned its management of the foreign exchange rate of the Canadian Dollar.

Roles and Responsibilities
The Bank is not a government department as it performs its activities at arm's-length from the government. The Governor and Senior Deputy Governor are appointed by the Bank's Board of Directors. The Deputy Minister of Finance sits on the Board of Directors but does not have a vote. The Bank submits its spending to the Board of Directors, while federal departments submit their spending estimates to the Treasury Board. Its employees are regulated by the Bank and not the federal public service agencies. Its books are audited by external auditors who are appointed by Cabinet on the recommendation of the Minister of Finance, not by the Auditor General of Canada.
Reserves: Canada does not have a set amount that they must keep in reserves. They do have a desired reserve ratio meaning they are free to determine the prudent level of reserves.

Type of Government Institution
The head of the Bank of Canada is the Governor, who is appointed by the bank's board of directors. The governor is appointed for a seven-year term, and cannot be dismissed by the government. In case of a profound disagreement between the government and the bank, the Minister of Finance can issue written instructions for the bank to change its policies. This has never actually happened in the history of the bank to date. In practice, the governor sets monetary policy independently of the government.

Bank of Canada Governors

Canadian dollar
List of banks in Canada