Stephen S. Poloz (born 1955) is a

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banker and was the ninth

governor of the Bank of Canada The governor of the Bank of Canada () is the chief executive officer of the Bank of Canada and acts as chair of its board of directors. The ''Bank of Canada Act'', 1985, S. 6(1), provides that the governor and deputy governor shall be appointed ...

. He is also a member of the board of directors for the

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Background

Poloz was born in Oshawa, the son of a mould maker. His father is of

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

and Polish descent, and his mother is of English and Scottish ancestry, and a descendant of

George Stephen, 1st Baron Mount Stephen George Stephen, 1st Baron Mount Stephen, (5 June 1829 – 29 November 1921), known as Sir George Stephen, Bt, between 1886 and 1891, was a Canadian businessman. Originally from Scotland, he made his fame in Montreal and was the first Canadian ...

. Poloz holds a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in economics from Queen's University and

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

and

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

degrees in economics from the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by resident ...

. He is also a graduate of

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

's senior executive program and is a Certified International Trade Professional.Poloz biography
Parliament of Canada website; accessed June 9, 2017. His doctoral thesis was on currency movements.

Education

Stephen Poloz received his bachelor's degree in 1978 from the Queen's University at Kingston, Canada. He majored in economics. He received his master's degree in economics in 1979 from the University of Western Ontario, and then a PhD in economics in 1982 from the same institution. In 2017, Trent University Durham GTA awarded Poloz an honorary PhD degree.

Career

From 1981 to 1994 Poloz worked for the

Bank of Canada The Bank of Canada (BoC; french: Banque du Canada) is a Crown corporation and Canada's central bank. Chartered in 1934 under the ''Bank of Canada Act'', it is responsible for formulating Canada's monetary policy,OECD. OECD Economic Surveys: Ca ...

, before leaving as chief of the research department to become managing editor of

BCA Research BCA Research Inc. is an independent provider of global investment research and investment strategy advice. BCA was founded by A. Hamilton Bolton in 1949 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The firm is also known by the title of its first publication The ...

from 1994 to 1999. Poloz joined

Export Development Canada Export Development Canada (EDC; french: Exportation et développement Canada) is Canada's export credit agency and a state-owned enterprise wholly owned by the Government of Canada. Its mandate is to support and develop trade between Canada and ot ...

in 1999 and became its president and CEO in 2010. He has been a visiting scholar with the "Economic Planning Agency" in

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and at the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...

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. Poloz attended the 62nd Bilderberg Annual Conference in

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, Denmark, in 2014, where one of the subjects discussed was the situation in Ukraine. Poloz holds an honorary Certified International Trade Professional (CITP) designation from the Forum for International Trade Training. He is a past president of the Ottawa Economics Association.

Governor of the Bank of Canada

In 2013, Poloz was appointed as the

Governor of the Bank of Canada The governor of the Bank of Canada () is the chief executive officer of the Bank of Canada and acts as chair of its board of directors. The ''Bank of Canada Act'', 1985, S. 6(1), provides that the governor and deputy governor shall be appointed ...

on a seven year term. In January 2015, Poloz cut the Bank of Canada's key interest rate from 1 percent to 0.75 percent in response to a stark decline in oil prices. In July of that year, he cut the Bank's interest rate again to 0.5 percent. In July 2017, Poloz raised the Bank's key interest rate to 0.75 percent, the first interest rate increase in Canada in seven years. This marked the start of a series of five rate hikes in total; by October 2018, the Bank's key interest rate was at 1.75 percent. Throughout March 2020, Poloz reduced the Bank's interest rate from 1.75 percent to 0.25 percent in response to the

economic downturn In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various ...

from the

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and a stark decline in oil prices. In December 2019, the Bank of Canada announced Poloz would not seek a second term. His term as Governor expired in June 2020.

Post-governorship

After his term as governor, Poloz joined the board of directors of

Enbridge Enbridge Inc. is a multinational pipeline and energy company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Enbridge owns and operates pipelines throughout Canada and the United States, transporting crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. ...

. On August 1, 2020, Poloz joined the

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

based law firm

Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP is a Canadian-based law firm founded in 1862. Osler is considered one of the Seven Sisters (law firms), a historical collection of seven law firms with offices in Toronto, Ontario. History The firm was founded in ...

as a special advisor to the firm. In July 1, 2022 Poloz joined the board of governors of Western University.

Personal life

Poloz is married to Valerie Poloz and they have two children.

References

External links

Stephen Poloz profile
BankofCanada.ca; accessed June 9, 2017. {{DEFAULTSORT:Poloz, Stephen 1956 births Living people University of Western Ontario alumni Queen's University at Kingston alumni Canadian economists Governors of the Bank of Canada Businesspeople from Ontario Canadian people of Ukrainian descent People from Oshawa