BMO names new chief conomist
Doug Porter was the ‘obvious choice’
TORONTO — The appointment of Doug Porter as Bank of Montreal’s new chief economist is being welcomed by the financial community, where he’s regarded as a skilled and effective commentator.
Porter is the “obvious choice, and he’s also a good and sensible choice” for the job, said Finn Poschmann, vice-president of research at the C.D. Howe Institute.
As a member of the C.D. Howe Institute’s council on monetary policy, Porter regularly provides input on the Bank of Canada’s interest rate policy. “When Doug talks you listen very carefully,” Poschmann said.
BMO announced on Friday that Porter would succeed Sherry Cooper, one of the best-known economists in the country, when she resigns effective Jan 30.
After more than three decades covering economics for BMO — she joined Burns Fry in 1983 prior to its merger with BMO Capital Markets — Cooper announced her de- parture on Monday.
Currently deputy chief economist at the bank, Porter held positions as economist and country risk analyst at other financial firms prior to joining BMO in 1995..
He has also worked at the Bank of Canada.
In May, Bloomberg named him best economic forecaster in Canada for the prior two years.
Commentators such as Porter, who is 52, have been garnering much attention among the public, particularly in the past few years as fall- out from the financial crisis continues, adding to uncertainty about the direction of the economy.
Porter earned a master’s in economics from the University of Western Ontario. Besides being a member of the C.D. Howe Institute’s monetary policy council, he’s also on the board of the Toronto Association of Business Economists, a position he has held since 1996.
“It’s absolutely no surprise that Doug Porter is (getting the job),” TD chief economist Craig Alexander said. “He has a high profile, he’s a superb economist and he’s been covering the Canadian economy and the U.S. economy for years. And frankly, he deserves it.”
Among economy watchers, Porter is widely known for bringing to light in the early 2000s problems with Statistics Canada’s consumer price index, relating to the improper measurement of hotel charges.
The result was that inflation was measurably underreported.
More broadly among the public, Porter is recognized for being among the first to draw attention to the price discrepancy between the United States and Canada on many consumer goods.