The Royal Canadian Mint was originally established in 1908 as a branch of the Royal Mint of London, England. On December 1, 1931, an Act of Parliament established the Royal Canadian Mint as a branch of the Department of Finance. On April 1, 1969, the Mint became a Crown Corporation and now reports to Parliament through the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities. It is a commercial enterprise whose business ventures extend throughout the world. The Mint is classified as a Schedule III-II Corporation under the Financial Administration Act, the category reserved for organizations which conduct commercial operations and are self-sufficient. The Mint owns two facilities. The Ottawa facility houses the corporate head office, the gold and silver refineries and production facilities for non-circulation coins and medals. The Winnipeg Plant, which includes a plating facility, produces all of Canada's circulation coins as well as circulation coins for numerous foreign countries.

As part of its business development initiative, the Mint set up a wholly owned subsidiary, RCMH-MRCF Inc., which was incorporated under the Canada Business Corporations Act in June 2002.