Douglas Porter has over 25 years of experience analyzing global economies and financial markets. He excels in interpreting and communicating the impact of key economic and financial data for businesses, and was identified as the best economic forecaster in Canada for the prior two years by Bloomberg in May 2012.
In his role as Chief Economist at BMO Capital Markets, he oversees the macroeconomic and financial market forecasts and is co-author of the firm’s weekly flagship publication, Focus. Douglas manages the team that won the prestigious 2010 Lawrence Klein award for forecast accuracy of the U.S. economy during the tumultuous 2006 to 2009 period.
As a respected commentator on economic and financial trends, Douglas is often quoted in the national press and is interviewed regularly on radio and television. He is also known for bringing to light the most serious error on record by Statistics Canada (in the consumer price index) and for first highlighting the large price gaps on many consumer goods between Canada and the US.
Before joining BMO Capital Markets, Douglas held positions of Economist and Country Risk Analyst with other Canadian financial institutions, and also worked in the Research Department at the Bank of Canada.
Douglas has been a Chartered Financial Analyst since 1995 and earned a Masters degree in Economics from the University of Western Ontario. He has been on the Board of Directors of the Toronto Association of Business and Economics since 1996, and has been a member of the C.D. Howe’s Monetary Policy Council since 2008. Douglas also serves on the Investment Management Committee of the Bank of Montreal’s Pension Fund Society.