carolyn wilkins : canadian economic update – strength in diversity remarks by ms carolyn wilkins, senior deputy governor of the bank of canada, at the associates of the asper school of business, winnipeg, manitoba, 12 june 2017. * * * introduction i am very pleased to join you here in winnipeg. thank you to the associates of the asper school of business for the invitation. i was able to get out for a run this morning at the forks. it is a beautiful area, and i was struck by the impressive architecture of the canadian museum for human rights. i am looking forward to visiting it this week. the museum reminds us that all people are worthy of respect and dignity, regardless of their differences. the 150th anniversary of confederation of canada is the perfect opportunity to reflect on the strength that comes from diversity. just a couple of weeks ago, the bank of canada issued a commemorative bank note that celebrates the diversity of our nation builders and of our landscape. diversity comes in many forms, and today i will speak about economic diversity and the strength that comes from having multiple sources of growth. as you will remember, the canadian economy was hit hard by the collapse in oil prices in 2014. the adjustment to lower oil prices is now largely behind us, and we are looking for signs that the sources of growth are broadening across sectors and regions. as i will explain, the signs are encouraging. my colleagues and i spend a lot of time poring over data to see how the economy is evolving. data rarely tell the whole story, though, which is why we also spend a lot of time talking to people, firms, financial market participants, industry associations, labour groups and others. we do this through formal surveys on important economic issues and through outreach discussions. and, for years now, the bank has held one of its board of directors ’ meetings outside ottawa every year. in fact, there is a board meeting in winnipeg this week, and we will have an opportunity to exchange views with local business people and other community members. we are looking forward to these discussions because this province is a vibrant microcosm of the canadian economy. while manitoba has a number of unique dimensions — ranging from world - class ballet to worldclass winters — it shares almost the same structure as the overall canadian economy when it comes to sources of gross domestic product ( gdp ) ( chart 1 ). 1 / 8 bis central bankers'speeches manitoba ’ s diverse economy has been a source of strength over the past decade. its

it is about trade, tax or the regulatory environment. we already factored in some of the effects of that uncertainty in our april outlook. until we get more information, it will be difficult to gauge the impact of any proposed policy changes more precisely. this will likely remain an important uncertainty in our projection, but life goes on and decisions must be made in the meantime. our judgment on the appropriate stance of monetary policy will continue to be based on the outlook for inflation and on the full range of risks — both upside and downside — to that outlook. an important aspect of our inflation assessment is that the economic drag from lower oil prices is now largely behind us. and the 50 basis point reduction in our policy rate in 2015 has facilitated this adjustment. as growth continues and, ideally, broadens further, governing council will be assessing whether all of the considerable monetary policy stimulus presently in place is still required. conclusion time to wrap up. there are still risks to the canadian economic outlook. that said, when you look at the economy from different perspectives, there is reason to be encouraged. growth has been robust in recent quarters. as we celebrate canada ’ s 150th birthday and the strength that comes from the diversity of its people, we are seeing the benefits of its economic diversity as well. the strengthening economic activity in regions and sectors that rely on energy is working to diversify the sources of growth across the country. and, while there is still room for improvement in the labour market, stronger growth is translating into job gains across a wider range of regions and sectors. at present, there is significant monetary policy stimulus in the system. as we work toward our interest rate decision on 12 july, we will be focusing on the data and talking to many people like you to get a better sense of what is happening on the ground. one thing that remains clear is the bank ’ s commitment to achieving its inflation target so that canadians can make their financial decisions with more confidence. 1 s. s. poloz, “ riding the commodity cycle : resources and the canadian economy ” ( speech to calgary economic development, calgary, alberta, 21 september 2015 ). 2 t. chernis, c. cheung and g. velasco. “ a three - frequency dynamic factor model for nowcasting canadian provincial gdp growth. ” bank of canada staff discussion paper no. 2017 – 8 ( june 2017 ). 7 / 8 bis central bankers'speeches 3 the goods sector includes oil and gas, mining and manufacturing,