Mandate
The Translation Bureau is a federal institution within the Public Services and Procurement Canada’s mandate portfolio. Its mandate is to provide translation, terminology and interpretation services to federal departments and agencies and Parliament.
On this page
Mission
The Translation Bureau works with and acts for all departments, boards, agencies and commissions established by Act of Parliament or appointed by order of the Governor in Council. It also works with and acts for both Houses of Parliament in all matters relating to the translation and revision of documents in various language combinations. These documents include correspondence, reports, proceedings, debates, bills and legislation. The Bureau also handles conference interpretation, sign language interpretation and terminology.
Role
Established in 1934, the Translation Bureau is the Government of Canada’s centre of linguistic expertise. It plays a leadership role in various federal government activities, increasingly standing out in the Canadian language industry as a leader in language technologies due to its innovative culture. In 1995, it became a special operating agency, providing services on an optional basis and billed on a cost-recovery basis.
The Translation Bureau supports the Government of Canada in its efforts to communicate with and serve Canadians in official languages, Indigenous languages, foreign languages and sign languages.
It offers the following services to federal departments and agencies and Parliament:
- translation
- revision
- editing
- terminology
- language advice
- closed captioning
- interpretation
The Translation Bureau also provides online tools and resources to Canadians through the Language Portal of Canada.
Translation Bureau services
The Translation Bureau offers language services and tools to federal departments and agencies and to Parliament. These services are offered in:
- official languages
- Indigenous languages
- foreign languages
- sign languages
The resources of the Language Portal of Canada include tools such as:
- Language Navigator
- TERMIUM Plus
- Official Languages Hub
- Writing tools
- Our Languages blog
- various language quizzes
- many terminology glossaries and vocabularies