Under National Instrument 25-101 — Designated Rating Organizations (NI 25-101), a "designated rating organization" means a credit rating organization that has been designated under securities legislation in Canada.

DBRS Limited, S&P Global Ratings Canada, Moody’s Canada Inc. and Fitch Ratings, Inc. have been designated as Designated Rating Organizations (DROs) under applicable Canadian securities laws, as contemplated under NI 25-101. The DROs are from the major global credit rating agencies: DBRS, Standard & Poor's, Moody's and Fitch.

Kroll Bond Rating Agency has also been designated as a DRO for purposes of certain issues of asset-backed securities.

For more information, see Practice Note, Credit Ratings and Credit Rating Organizations in Canada.