Wilfrid Laurier University crowned National Champion of The Governor’s Challenge

Wilfrid Laurier University has won the Bank of Canada’s third annual Governor’s Challenge, a national student competition in which teams simulate the role of advisor to the Bank’s Governing Council. The winners were announced following the final round in Ottawa on Saturday, February 10.

Governor Stephen S. Poloz, who watched the final round of presentations and awarded the championship trophy, congratulated Laurier and encouraged all participants to keep up their interest in the monetary policy-making process. “The economic analysis, understanding of monetary policy and appreciation of the Canadian economy demonstrated by these young people are highly relevant to the work we do at the Bank of Canada,” he said. “I hope they consider a career in central banking as they pursue their education and professional goals.”

Five teams competed in the final round, each one giving a presentation on the economic outlook for Canada and making a monetary policy recommendation to a panel of senior executives from the Bank and the private sector.

“Monetary policy in Canada is made by consensus and I was particularly impressed by the evidence of strong teamwork across all five teams,” said Deputy Governor Sylvain Leduc, who judged the final round alongside Jing Yang, Deputy Managing Director of the Bank’s Canadian Economic Analysis Department, and Martin Eichenbaum, Professor of Economics at Northwestern University and Co-Director of the Center for International Macroeconomics.

Notes for editors:

• The team from the University of Toronto (St. George Campus) finished in the first runner-up spot. The other finalists, in no particular order, were the teams from Queen’s University, the University of Ottawa and the University of Alberta.

• The faculty advisors for the championship and first runner-up teams were, respectively, professors Ke Pang and Christos Shiamptanis of Wilfrid Laurier University, and professors Michelle Alexopoulos and Martin Burda of the University of Toronto.

• The competition began on November 21, 2017 with a first round of presentations by video conference; more than 100 students from 25 Canadian universities participated. On November 27, five teams were selected to compete in the final round.

• For more information about The Governor’s Challenge, and to learn about future competitions, visit the Bank’s website.