Stephen S. Poloz

Governor

Stephen S. Poloz was appointed Governor of the Bank of Canada, effective 3 June 2013, for a term of seven years. As Governor, he is also Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank and a member of the Board of Directors of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). He is the current Chair of the BIS Audit Committee and former Chair of the Consultative Council for the Americas.

Born in Oshawa, Ontario, Mr. Poloz graduated from Queen’s University in 1978 with a bachelor’s degree in economics. He received a master’s degree in economics in 1979 and a PhD in economics in 1982, both from the University of Western Ontario. In 2017, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Trent University.

Mr. Poloz first joined the Bank of Canada in 1981 and occupied a range of increasingly senior positions over a 14-year span, culminating in his appointment as Chief of the Bank’s Research Department in 1992. After his departure from the Bank in 1995, he spent four years at BCA Research, where he served as managing editor of its flagship publication, The International Bank Credit Analyst.

Mr. Poloz joined Export Development Canada (EDC) in 1999 as Vice-President and Chief Economist. From 2008 to 2010, he was Senior Vice-President, Financing, with responsibility for all of EDC’s lending programs. In January 2011, he was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of EDC, a position in which he served until his appointment as Governor of the Bank of Canada.

Mr. Poloz is a Certified International Trade Professional and a graduate of Columbia University’s Senior Executive Program. He has been a visiting scholar at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C., and at the Economic Planning Agency in Tokyo, Japan. Mr. Poloz has taught economics at the University of Western Ontario, Concordia University and Queen’s School of Business. He is a past president of the Ottawa Economics Association.

Since 2013, Mr. Poloz has been a member of the Lawrence Centre Advisory Council and has served as chair of the Nominating Committee for the Community Foundation of Ottawa since 2014. He resides in Ottawa with his wife, Valerie. He has two children, Jessica and Nicholas, and he is a grandfather.