Ten contenders to be the next Bank of Canada governor
Mark Carney is leaving the Bank of Canada to become governor of one of the world’s oldest central banks, the Bank of England. Mr. Carney, the former Goldman Sachs investment banker who took over Canada’s central bank in 2008, will lead the Bank of England starting in July, 2013. He has committed to doing the job for five years. Here are the contenders for the job.
TIFF MACKLEM<br>Clearly the front-runner for the governor’s job, Tiff Macklem joined the Bank of Canada more than a quarter-century ago and has spent the past couple of years as Mark Carney’s right-hand man. Like Mr. Carney, he has also worked at the federal Finance Department, most recently as associate deputy minister from 2007 to 2010. However, he lacks Mr. Carney’s private-sector experience.<br>As senior deputy governor, Mr. Macklem is effectively the central bank’s chief operating officer, and second in command, serving on the board of directors and on its governing council. He has also been prominent on the speaking circuit, and often gives briefings to the financial community.<br> When he was named a deputy governor eight years ago, after heading the bank’s research department, Mr. Macklem was touted as a possible candidate for the top job some time down the road. His experience and understanding of monetary policy makes him the top internal candidate, said Toronto-Dominion Bank’s chief economist Craig Alexander, and one business executive described Mr. Macklem as an ideal choice because he is “a sharp guy, fluently bilingual, and like [former governor David] Dodge, well versed in federal government bureaucracy.”<br> Mr. Macklem has a bachelor’s degree in economics from Queen’s University, and a master’s and PhD from the University of Western Ontario.
DON DRUMMOND<br>Mr. Drummond worked in the federal Department of Finance for more than two decades, rising to the position of associate deputy minister. He was also a key adviser to Paul Martin. Mr. Drummond then spent 10 years as chief economist at Toronto-Dominion Bank, and kept a high profile, weighing in on many economic and public policy issues. Soon after retiring from the bank in 2010, he was recruited by the Ontario government to analyze its public spending and he delivered a comprehensive report earlier this year with a detailed prescription for reducing costs and making the bureaucracy more efficient. <br>Currently, Mr. Drummond holds a fellowship at Queen’s University in Kingston. “Mr. Drummond would bring experience from both the public and the private sector,” said Nomura Securities economist Charles St-Arnaud.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
KEVIN LYNCH<br>The Bank of Montreal’s vice-chairman began his career as a Bank of Canada economist. But he spent most of his working life in federal government jobs, including the senior positions of deputy minister of industry and deputy minister of finance. As Clerk of the Privy Council, he was in charge of the entire federal bureaucracy. Mr. Lynch also has experience in international financial institutions, having spent two years as an executive director of the International Monetary Fund. He took on the vice-chairman’s job at BMO in 2010.Peter Power/The Globe and Mail
JEAN BOIVIN<br>In October, Mr. Boivin left his job as deputy governor of the Bank of Canada to become an associate deputy minister in the Department of Finance. An expert on monetary policy, interest rates and inflation, Mr. Boivin was an economics professor in Montreal before he joined the central bank. He also sat on the monetary policy council of the C.D. Howe Institute. <br>Mr. Boivin also has strong international connections – in 2000, he co-wrote a paper with his thesis supervisor Ben Bernanke, now chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, while they were both at Princeton University.© Bank of Canada/Reuters
JULIE DICKSON<br> Currently the head of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, Ms. Dickson worked for the federal Finance Department for 15 years. Before that she led the financial institutions practice at a consulting firm.<br>Ms. Dickson has economics degrees from the University of New Brunswick and Queen’s University in Kingston.CHRIS WATTIE/Reuters
STEPHEN S. POLOZ<br> Mr. Poloz is now president and chief executive officer of Export Development Canada, but earlier in his career he spent 14 years at the Bank of Canada. He has a PhD in economics from the University of Western Ontario.Pawel Dwulit/The Globe and Mail
CLÉMENT GIGNAC<br> Mr. Gignac was chief economist for National Bank of Canada for many years, but he also served as an adviser to the federal Finance Department, and he was briefly a cabinet minister in the Quebec provincial government of Jean Charest. Last month he took up the position of chief economist at insurer Industrial-Alliance.Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press
AGATHE CÔTÉ<br> Other Bank of Canada deputies are potential candidates, but considered long shots, including Agathe Côté, Timothy Lane and John Murray.
TIMOTHY LANE<br>Timothy Lane, Bank of Canada deputy governor.
JOHN MURRAY<br>John Murray, Bank of Canada deputy governor.