Media Fact Sheet

Commissionaires at a Glance

  • Commissionaires Great Lakes is a leading Canadian security services provider—led and managed by veterans for veterans.
  • Established in 1925, our mandate is to create meaningful employment opportunities for former members of the Canadian Forces and RCMP, serving those who have served our nation.
  • Commissionaires is a not-for-profit organization that proudly delivers approximately 95% of its revenues back to its members, both veteran and non-veteran, by operating a thriving, self-sustaining business with revenues exceeding $500 million per annum.
  • Commissionaires is a national organization with 20,000 employees in 1,200 communities across Canada.
  • We are the largest private employer of veterans in Canada. More than 1,000 former members of the Canadian Forces and RCMP are hired by Commissionaires each year, joining the thousands of veterans who are already employed by the organization.
  • Commissionaires provides advanced security services including guarding, security consulting, fingerprinting and identification services, bylaw enforcement, and security training programs, providing diverse and challenging employment opportunities.
  • The skills and training that veterans bring to Commissionaires allow us to best serve a variety of private and public sector clients such as air and sea ports, border crossings, commercial enterprises, government facilities, institutions, and individual Canadians.
  • Commissionaires is led by an experienced and focused team of professionals, most of whom are veterans. This includes a volunteer Board of Governors comprising professionals from various industries, many of whom have served in the Canadian Forces and RCMP, and who lend their leadership and sound business judgement to Commissionaires.
  • Commissionaires has remained the principal supplier of guard services to the Federal Government since 1945, when the Government of Canada recognized our contribution to veterans and awarded Commissionaires a significant portion of Government of Canada guarding services contracts across Canada. The services that are supplied to the Government are priced at cost, and as a result, this relationship between the Government and Commissionaires comes at zero cost to the Canadian taxpayer.
  • The contract that Commissionaires maintains with the Federal Government is pivotal in helping care for veterans by providing employment opportunities. Commissionaires ensures that the majority (currently over 66%) of hours worked at Federal sites are executed by veterans. The work that veterans perform at Government sites represents only part of the total hours worked by veterans at Commissionaires.
  • Commissionaires is proud to employ mostly veterans at Federal sites, although veterans do not always live where federal jobs are located. For this reason we employ a mix of veteran and non-veteran commissionaires.
  • Commissionaires entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of National Defence in 2010 to provide private sector employment opportunities as part of a reintegration process for injured or ill CF members who are returning to military duty or transitioning to life following their service careers.

Services and solutions

  • Security Solutions
    Providing professional, reliable, highly qualified and professional security guards for every situation across the nation;
  • Enforcement Services
    Providing professional services such as bylaw and parking to municipalities, police detachments and provincial government;
  • Identification Services
    Delivering full identification services, including police clearances, digital fingerprinting and employee background screening and pardons;
  • Training
    Meeting client needs with superior training programs including:
    • Emergency and Standard First Aid;
    • Dealing with Difficult People;
    • Security Awareness.

Clients

  • Government facilities (federal, provincial and municipal) including:
    Canada Revenue Agency, Canada Border Services Agency, Citizenship & Immigration Canada,  Federal Court of Canada, Transport Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Public Works and Government Services Canada, Solicitor General, Tax Court of Canada;
  • Airports (international and regional);
  • RCMP and Police Detachments;
  • Educational Institutions;
  • Hospitals;
  • Commercial Enterprises;
  • Condominium Properties.

Endorsements

"I would like to personally thank you for the work of your fine team of Commissionaires who so ably supported the Integrated Security Unit at diverse sites in the lead up to and conduct of the G8 and G20 Summits.  The exceptional efforts and cheerful support of all your members significantly assisted the Integrated Security Unit in meeting its goals. Consistently, the Commissionaires assigned to my headquarters and the various out stations provided diligent and effective service, thus greatly easing our task." Read more
Alphonse MacNeil, Chief Superintendent, Division Operations Commander, 2010 G8 – G20 Summits, Integrated Security Unit

"The continuous effort that is put forth by each member of your guard force at Industry Canada along with his or her relentless dedication is what makes the team second to none. It is obvious that the members take pride in delivering the various services, as feedback is always positive from internal and external clientele. We are proud of our team!”
Daniel Carrier, Director, Security Services, Industry Canada

"I found your staff to be a dedicated, competent and cheerful crew. I very much enjoyed working with them. I would not hesitate to refer any of my colleagues requiring your services, to the Commissionaires."
Rita Hansen, Canadian Society of Respiratory Therapists

“Our current commissionaires are doing an exceptional job. They are unfailingly courteous, up-beat, cheerful regardless of the problems of congestion, confusion, communications problems and anxiety they deal with all day long. It is a real pleasure to have them with us.”
William L. Day, Citizenship Judge

For further information contact:

Talyanna Bossakova, CPO
Coordinator Special Projects
Commissionaires Great Lakes
T 416 364 4496 E 302
tbossakova@commissionaires.ca

View Commissionaires b-roll footage

Download High Quality Broadcast MP4 of Commissionaires b-roll footage (1.4 gig).