Laurier students set to compete for national title at Bank of Canada Governor’s Challenge finals

Jan. 29, 2025

A team of undergraduate students from Wilfrid Laurier University’s Lazaridis School of Business and Economics will put their knowledge of monetary policy to the test during the upcoming Bank of Canada Governor’s Challenge finals.

Laurier students Kyle Arndt, Matyas Cseke, Lana El-Masry, Cheryl Li and Miraide Palmer will compete against fellow finalists from Université de Sherbrooke, University of Guelph, University of Alberta, University of Ottawa and Western University on Feb. 1 in Ottawa.

Designed to promote understanding of the role of monetary policy in Canada’s economy, the Bank of Canada Governor’s Challenge puts students in the role of advisor to the bank’s governing council. Participating teams must analyze and forecast economic developments and recommend whether to raise the bank’s key interest rate, lower it, or leave it unchanged to keep inflation low, stable and in line with the bank’s two per cent inflation target.

“It’s important for every Canadian to learn about monetary policy because it affects everyone’s daily lives, whether you want to buy a house or just in day-to-day living,” said El-Masry. “It will affect you in multiple ways, so it’s really important to stay informed about what's going on in the economy and what you can do to prepare yourself financially.”

Laurier was announced as a Bank of Canada Governor’s Challenge national finalist in November following a preliminary competition that included more than 100 students from 26 Canadian universities. During Feb. 1 presentations at the Bank of Canada in Ottawa the finalists will present their analysis and policy recommendation to Governor of the Bank of Canada Tiff Macklem and a panel of expert Bank of Canada judges, who will evaluate teams on the substance of their analysis, the quality of their presentation and evidence of strong teamwork.

“It really forces you to reflect on everything you’ve learned up until this point,” says Palmer. “The challenge has allowed us to see what economists do in the real world and what we can potentially do after we graduate.”

Laurier is a two-time Bank of Canada Governor’s Challenge champion, having won the competition in 2018 and 2019, and has reached the finals seven times. This year’s team has worked tirelessly preparing, refining their economic model through extensive research, ideation and guidance from faculty. They say their commitment has paid off, with each team member bringing unique insights to the table.

“Building the model you really get to see the different interactions in the economy, how an interest rate decision might move housing prices in the future, how it will affect consumption patterns and how much money people have to spend,” says Arndt. “Much is impacted by what the Bank of Canada does and it’s important to be aware and knowledgeable about these things.”

While they couldn't divulge details about the interest rate recommendation contained in their model ahead of the Feb. 1 finals, Laurier team members say they are confident. They did, however, note some nerves ahead of the competition. They will have just 15 minutes to present their recommendation, followed by a 15-minute question-and-answer session that will see them quizzed by Bank of Canada experts.

“Our group has a lot of good chemistry,” says Li. “It’s a lot of bouncing ideas off each other, practicing our scripts, knowing our model inside out and working together a lot. I think it's an awesome opportunity to have this experience.”

Team members say they’ve received tremendous support from faculty members in the Department of Economics and the entire Laurier community. They especially note the support of the team’s faculty advisor Associate Professor Christos Shiamptanis, who also serves as director of Laurier’s Master of Arts in Business Economics program.

Shiamptanis, part of Laurier’s Bank of Canada Governor’s Challenge team since the competition’s inception 10 years ago, praised the work and dedication of this year’s team.

“I look at the challenge as a great experiential learning opportunity,” says Shiamptanis. “The goal is to teach students to become critical thinkers and great economists. To do that, you require technical skills but also require soft skills. It’s the combination of the two that will make you successful.”

Students who participate in the Bank of Canada Governor’s Challenge take two undergraduate courses to prepare, EC310D: Special Topics in Economics, which introduces macro forecasting, and EC410D: Special Advanced Topics in Economics, which unifies verbal and written communication skills with the technical skills students learn during undergraduate macro and econometrics courses. Designed by Shiamptanis, the preparatory courses serve to engage and incentivize students in an immersive learning environment, including in-class presentation competitions that allow students to assess the work of their peers.

In addition to Arndt, Cseke, El-Masry, Li and Palmer, students Carson Boettinger, Charlie Fletcher and Jad Tamimi were part of the team that prepared Laurier’s first round Bank of Canada Governor’s Challenge entry in November.

“It might just be the five of us here now, but a big thanks to everyone who helped get us here,” says Cseke. “We presented to faculty members in Economics and all of the professors were there asking us questions and pushing us along. We’ve had Professor Shiamptanis here the whole time, too. That’s probably why Laurier has been so successful in this competition, the support and the work that everybody puts in.

“We’ve got a good team and we’re full of confidence, but the job isn’t finished yet. We’re here to win for Laurier. That’s the end goal.”

The Bank of Canada Governor’s Challenge is one in a suite of world-class experiential learning opportunities offered in the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics, where students have the opportunity to unleash their competitive edge by participating in case competitions. Through the competitions, students work together to develop innovative solutions to real-world business problems, honing their critical thinking, teamwork and presentation skills.