OTTAWA--The Bank of Canada said Thursday it would be expanding membership on its governing council, or the body of senior policymakers tasked with setting rate policy.
The central bank said membership on the governing council would increase to seven officials from six, through the addition of a new external deputy governor. Recruiting is underway to find the appropriate candidate, who is eligible for a part-time contract with the central bank on a two-year term.
The Bank of Canada presently has one external deputy governor, Nicolas Vincent, who is an economics professor at HEC Montreal, a post-secondary business school. Vincent joined the Bank of Canada in March, 2023, and the central bank said his term would be extended to March, 2026.
Bank of Canada Gov. Tiff Macklem said having Vincent on board "demonstrated the value of including an external point of view in the conduct of monetary policy." He added a second external deputy governor would add another fresh perspective to deliberations, and offer different skills and experiences.
Unlike the Federal Reserve and Bank of England, the Bank of Canada's governing council reaches a decision on rate policy by consensus, whereby all members must all agree on the course of action. "It might not come as a surprise that we do not always agree on everything," Vincent said in a speech last month about the central bank's decision-making process.