At federally regulated institutions, inactive accounts become unclaimed if they are unused for a decade. Nationally, the Bank of Canada (BoC) holds onto these accounts, and they can be reclaimed before their deadlines. The BoC’s deadlines are 30 years for accounts worth under $1,000 and 100 years for more than $1,000. If the deadline passes, the federal government gets to keep the balance in the account.




