December 13, 2006 7:30 AM to 9:00 AMRoyal Mayfair Golf and Country Club, Edmonton, Alberta
Format:
In Person
SPEAKER
Mark Illing
Senior Representative (Economics)
For the Prairies, Nunavut, and NWT region
Bank of Canada
The Canadian economy has been subject to significant shocks over the past three years as global growth and the demand for commodities has accelerated. Surging energy and metals prices have driven up the Canadian dollar at an unprecedented rate, while inflation pressures and interest rates have been remarkably low and stable. The effects of the commodity boom have resulted in greater regional disparities than at any point since the late-1970s, and yet the Bank of Canada's monetary policy remains national in scope. At the same time, global imbalances continue to mount--the U.S. absorbs most of the world's savings to fuel an unsustainable trade deficit--leaving trillions of dollars of housing wealth hanging in the balance. Mark Illing will discuss these issues in the context of the Bank of Canada's global economic outlook, and then explore the implications for Canada and, in particular, the Alberta economy.