Stephen Shawn Poloz (born 1955) is a

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banker who served as the ninth governor of the Bank of Canada from 2013 to 2020. He is also a member of the board of directors for the

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Background

Poloz was born in

Oshawa Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the Greater Toronto Area and of the Golden Horseshoe. It ...

, the son of a mould maker. His father is of Ukrainian and Polish descent, and his mother is of English and Scottish ancestry, and a descendant of George Stephen, 1st Baron Mount Stephen. Poloz holds a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in economics from Queen's University and

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) 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. Those admitted to the degree have ...

and

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degrees in economics from the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO; branded as Western University) is a Public university, public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thame ...

. He is also a graduate of

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

'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; ) is a Crown corporations of Canada, 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 Surve ...

, before leaving as chief of the research department to become managing editor of BCA Research from 1994 to 1999. Poloz joined

Export Development Canada Export Development Canada (EDC; ) is Canada's export credit agency and a Crown corporation wholly owned by the Government of Canada. Its mandate is to support and develop trade between Canada and other countries, and help Canada's competitiveness ...

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

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

and at the

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. Poloz attended the 62nd Bilderberg Annual Conference in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, 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 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 from the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

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 transport, 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 n ...

. On August 1, 2020, Poloz joined the

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

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. On July 1, 2022, Poloz joined the board of governors of Western University. He was appointed to the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

in 2024.

Personal life

Poloz is married to Valerie Poloz and they have two children. He currently lives in

Orleans, Ontario Orleans (; French: ; officially and in French Orléans)The suburb is called ''Orléans'' (with an accent) in French, and is commonly called ''Orleans'' (no accent) in English. The official name in English was changed from ''Orleans'' to ''Orlé ...

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 21st-century Canadian economists Governors of the Bank of Canada Businesspeople from Ottawa Canadian people of Ukrainian descent People from Oshawa Officers of the Order of Canada