[1] CDEV was incorporated under the Canada Business Corporations Act in 1982 and was initially intended to be a temporary entity, with legislation passed in 1998 directing the corporation's mandate to be focussed solely on orderly dissolution and divestment of its holdings.

[2] Owned in full by the Crown and managed by a Toronto-based board of directors,[3] CDEV is accountable to the Parliament of Canada through the Minister of Finance.

[2] Any changes in corporate structure or purchases of new assets must be directed by the King-in-Council.

[4] As of 2021[update], CDEV's current holdings consist of four subsidiary companies: Canada Hibernia Holding Corporation (manages the Government of Canada's 8.5% interest in the Hibernia oil field), Canada Eldor Inc. (manages remaining obligations of Eldorado Resources), Canada TMP Finance Limited (holding company for purchase and financing of Trans Mountain pipeline; 100% owner of Trans Mountain Corporation which manages the pipeline), and Canada Enterprise Emergency Funding Corporation (administers the Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility, a federal COVID-19 financial aid program for large Canadian businesses).

[2][5][6] In 2009, the corporation also, through its subsidiary 7176384 Canada Inc.,[7] purchased 7.9% of General Motors.