New Bank of Canada Deputy Governor Sylvain Leduc.
The Bank of Canada has added a francophone to its senior ranks, naming Montreal-born Sylvain Leduc as a deputy governor.
Mr. Leduc, currently vice-president of microeconomic and macroeconomic research at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, is returning to Canada to fill the spot on the central bank's six-member governing council vacated by Agathe Côté, who retired last month.
"Sylvain Leduc's central banking experience and deep understanding of the international monetary system make him an exceptional addition to the bank's governing council," Governor Stephen Poloz said in a statement Tuesday. "His expertise in economic modelling and policy will complement the skills and experience of his fellow deputy governors."
Mr. Leduc, a McGill University-educated economist, has held increasingly senior positions in the U.S. central banking system, including stints at the U.S. Federal Reserve Board in Washington and the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. A prolific writer, he has dozens of research papers to his credit on everything from oil shocks to unconventional monetary policy.
Of particular interest to the Canadian government is a 2012 paper he wrote, "Roads to Prosperity or Bridges to Nowhere? Theory and Evidence on the Impact of Public Infrastructure Investment." Among his findings, Mr. Leduc concluded that spending on highway construction "may not be well suited to be an effective type of stimulus spending."
Ottawa is poised to provide details on its plans for billions of dollars of new infrastructure spending in its March 22 budget. With interest rates already ultralow, Mr. Poloz and other bank officials have suggested that increased fiscal spending right now may be a good thing.
At the Bank of Canada, Mr. Leduc will share responsibility with deputy governor Lynn Patterson for overseeing the financial system.
The other members of the governing council are Mr. Poloz, senior deputy governor Carolyn Wilkins plus deputy governors Tim Lane and Larry Schembri.