The Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) is a Crown corporation which was established by an Act of Parliament effective October 2, 1975 as the Federal Business Development Bank (FBDB), and continued under its new name by an Act of Parliament on July 13, 1995. FBDB, in turn, had succeeded the Industrial Development Bank which was formed in 1944.

BDC's mandate is to support Canadian entrepreneurship by providing financial and management consulting services, giving particular attention to the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises. A network of branches across Canada provide the full range of BDC's services to small and medium-sized businesses located in each branch territory.