Roundtable Luncheon with Frances Donald, Jean-François Perreault and Douglas Porter.
C.D. Howe Institute events and webinars are open to members and their guests.
Please follow this link or contact events@cdhowe.org to register.
Frances Donald, Chief Economist and Senior Vice President at RBC
Frances Donald is the Chief Economist at RBC and leads a team of economists who deliver economic analyses to help inspire and empower informed decision making in an evolving world. Frances is a leading voice on economic issues and is highly sought after by clients, government leaders, policy makers, and media in the U.S. and Canada for her deep insights on the macro-economic environment and financial markets in North America. She is recognized for her ability to effectively communicate complex economic issues to wide audiences.
Frances joined RBC from another financial institution where she served as global chief economist and strategist. In this capacity, she was responsible for forecasting global macroeconomic and financial trends, analyzing the economy and capital markets for potential opportunities and risks, and serving as a thought leader both within the firm and externally.
She’s a frequent public speaker and regularly appears in international media, including Bloomberg and CNBC.
Frances obtained a Bachelor of Economics from Queen’s University and earned her master’s degree in economics from New York University.
Jean-François Perrault, Chief Economist and Senior Vice President at Scotiabank
Jean-François Perrault joined Scotiabank in 2015 as Senior Vice-President and Chief Economist. He leads a team of Economists to support Scotiabank’s domestic and international business lines and clients from retail to capital markets, providing Scotiabank's senior executives, business lines and customers with perspectives, insights and forecasts on economic, financial market and policy developments.
Prior to joining Scotiabank, Jean-François held prominent roles with the federal government, the Bank of Canada, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
Douglas Porter, Chief Economist and Managing Director at BMO
Douglas Porter has over 30 years of experience analyzing global economies and financial markets. As Chief Economist at BMO Financial Group and author of the popular Talking Points, he oversees the macroeconomic and financial market forecasts and co-writes the firm’s weekly flagship publication, Focus. Mr. Porter manages the team that has won numerous forecasting awards. Most recently, Douglas led the team to a #1 ranking for Top U.S. Forecaster among 60 global firms in the 2023 Focus Economics Survey, and #1 for Top Canadian Inflation Forecaster among 28 firms. Also, his team took the #1 spot in the StarMine Awards for Most Accurate Forecasters for Canada in 2022.
As a respected commentator on economic and financial trends, he is regularly quoted in the national press and often interviewed on radio and television.
Douglas’ career began at the Bank of Canada; then, before joining BMO, he held the positions of Economist and Country Risk Analyst with other Canadian financial institutions.
He has been a member of C.D. Howe’s Monetary Policy Council since 2008 and serves on the Investment Management Committees of the Bank of Montreal’s Canada Pension Plan and Western’s Endowment Fund.
Douglas Porter, CFA, earned a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Western Ontario.
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