Read a message from Governor Macklem and learn more about our planning framework and how we will put our strategic plan into action.
A message from the Governor
The Bank of Canada is grounded by over 85 years of history—yet always focused on the future. We learn from our past experience and constantly think ahead to what comes next. We leverage our insights in policies, decisions and actions that better prepare Canadians for tomorrow. We point to opportunity and we assess the risks. And on the cornerstone of low and stable inflation, we lay the foundation for the economic and financial welfare of Canadians, so they can make their own plans with greater confidence.
Comprehensive three-year plans have long been a part of our life cycle as a public institution and are integral to how we measure progress. And each new set of goals and priorities naturally reflects the many forces—social, political, technological and environmental—that shape the lives of the people we serve.
A rapidly changing context
Our 2022–24 strategic plan was developed during an especially challenging time, as the most severe pandemic in a century created a devastating public health crisis and caused massive disruption in the global economy. To be clear, this plan is not a response to the pandemic; it looks ahead and sets objectives for the next three years. But without doubt, the pandemic has had a profound influence. It has accelerated some trends and created new risks, affecting both the economic environment and our own operations. It is impossible to view the future other than through a post-pandemic lens.
Our plan also reflects the wider currents of social change. Early in 2020, demonstrations against racial injustice and systemic racism occurred in communities across North America and around the world. And 2021 was marked by tragic evidence of the horrors of the residential school system in Canada and its ongoing effects on Indigenous communities.
The resulting calls for a more just and equitable society reinforced the importance of work already underway at the Bank to advance equity, diversity and inclusion—in our own organization and in our interactions with Canadians. This strategic plan underlines our resolve to eliminate long-standing barriers and ensure all voices are heard.
Our planning process was also influenced by the imperative to take action on critical global issues—notably climate change. We cannot separate the Bank’s efforts to foster economic and financial stability from the challenges posed by this threat. Our plan includes commitments to deepen understanding of the implications of climate change for the economy and the financial system. This work will help Canada transition more smoothly to a low-carbon future.
At the same time, our plan reflects the Bank’s evolving role in Canadian society at a point when many avenues of technological change are converging. Digital innovation continues to have a dramatic impact on the financial and payment systems, on how people work and on the overall structure of the economy. And while technological advances deliver many benefits, they also bring new risks, threats and disruption.
Even as the recovery gains momentum, it will be uneven. The Bank remains vigilant and prepared to use its tools to address the pandemic’s lingering impacts. In this period of transition, we must be ready to adjust and adapt—balancing, as always, the drive for agility with the need to ensure stability.
A different kind of plan
This strategic plan embeds critical work already underway to address new opportunities that will ensure we remain a leading central bank. We’re reimagining our data, analytical tools and models to enhance our monetary policy decisions and operations. We’re bolstering resilience in the financial system and helping to transform the payments ecosystem. We’re developing and preparing for the possibility of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). And we’re modernizing our banking operations while strengthening cyber security.
But even more than this, the plan provides a framework to help everyone in the Bank focus on our highest-value activities. In setting a clear direction, the plan will guide us on where we need to stretch—to improve or enhance, to augment or expand, to rethink or create—as we continue to fulfill the Bank’s vision. At the same time, we will maintain our sound stewardship of the public resources that Canadians entrust to us.
Doing all that we’ve outlined will require a multidisciplinary approach. And to succeed, we’ll continue to build on our culture as a highly collaborative organization in which everyone adds value.
New ways of working together
The post-pandemic world calls for new ways of collaborating as well as innovative technologies and timely data to support our analysis and decision making. This strategic plan will help everyone across the Bank work more effectively.
The plan will also extend the Bank’s connections to the wider world. We will strengthen existing partnerships and forge new ones as we strive to increase our global influence on issues important to Canada—from climate change and economic equity and inclusion to rapid digitalization and cyber security. We’ll also be connecting more than ever with Canadians as we listen to their priorities and concerns. We will help everyone understand how economic forces affect their day-to-day lives. And we will reinforce public trust by showing how the Bank’s policies and actions reflect the input of Canadians as we deliver low inflation and provide a stable economic environment in which they can make sound choices.
Meeting Canadians’ high expectations
We’ve set ambitious goals for ourselves. We’ve also made some careful choices regarding our priorities. And in the end, our plan will be judged by its execution. Canadians count on us to support economic and financial stability. They count on us to navigate relentless change. They count on us to listen to them closely, and to respect their diverse points of view. And they count on us to explain and be accountable for everything we do.
Canadians count on us—and this strategic plan, as our roadmap for the future, shows exactly how we’ll ensure that they continue to do so.
Tiff Macklem
Governor
Our planning framework
Themes
The broad areas where we’re concentrating our efforts
Goals
The objectives we’ve set to advance positive change
Priorities
The specific next steps that will advance our goals
How we’ll measure success
The high-level indicators of progress for each goal
Putting our plan into action
The Bank’s Board of Directors oversees the implementation of our strategic plan. And all employees, in every area of the organization, have a role to play in bringing it to life.
Working with agility and purpose in a constantly changing environment, teams across the Bank will collaborate on advancing our priorities. As always, we will provide updates on our progress in reports to our Board of Directors, external stakeholders and the public, applying the criteria we’ve identified to measure success. The insights we gain will also inform longer-term planning, including the development of our next strategic plan.
Our 2022–24 strategic plan is more than a list of future objectives. It’s a commitment to apply our collective skills, expertise and experience to meet the ambitious goals we’ve set for ourselves—and fulfill our promise to Canadians.