(September 8 – 10:30 ET) – The National Post is reporting that the choice for the next head of the Bank of Canada is down to two possibilities — Malcolm Knight, the current deputy governor, and David Dodge, Health Canada’s deputy minister.
The newspaper cites “well-placed sources” as the basis of its report. Reportedly the bank’s search committee also considered John McCallum, Royal Bank’s chief economist; former deputy minister of Finance Scott Clark; Bill White, a senior officer of the Bank for International Settlements; and Judith Maxwell, a former Bank of Canada director.
Gordon Thiessen, the bank’s current governor, is scheduled to retire in January 2001. The new governor will receive a seven-year appointment, selected by the Bank’s board and approved by the minister of finance and the federal Cabinet.
Knight, 56, joined the bank from the International Monetary Fund last May as deputy governor and he is believed to be the front runner for the job. However the report says that Dodge will likely be favoured by Finance. Dodge was finance minister Paul Martin’s deputy minister for a number of years and worked closely with Martin on pushing government finances from chronic deficit into surplus.
The Bank of Canada board meets next week in Calgary, and Thiessen is slated to speak publicly on Thursday.
-IE Staff