Project Overview

Most of What You Would Ever Need to Know About Money in Canada

Since the formation of the Bank of Canada in 1935, there was a desire within the Bank for a clear language explanation of money, the financial system, the link between money and the economy, and how the Bank implemented monetary policy. There were a number of attempts to do this over the years but, in the 1990s, CFEE successfully collaborated with the Bank to produce “Money and Monetary Policy in Canada” – a publication that achieved the Bank’s goal. The publication was used in classrooms across the country at the high school and post-secondary levels. It has been out of print for some time.

Given the importance of the subject matter, and the changes that have occurred over the last 20-25 years, CFEE recently collaborated with the Bank to produce an updated online version of this resource.

Organized in modular format for users to select the topics of interest, the modules cover topics ranging from the roles of money, what we use as money, the key characteristics of money, the history of money in Canada, the link between money and the economy, exchange rates, interest rates, and how the Bank implements monetary policy. There are accompanying Teacher’s Guides for each module.

The content of this website will be of interest to anyone wanting to learn more about money, our financial system, and the Bank of Canada – or who is involved in providing instruction on these topics. News from the Bank of Canada – with key statistics and information – will be provided on the site on a regular basis.

Highlights

• Covers a range of topics about money, our financial system, the economy, and the Bank of Canada in clear language – explaining terms and using minimal jargon;
• Is in modular format for users to select topics of interest;
• Contains a wide variety of charts, graphs, and statistics that will be of interest to those learning about our financial system and the Bank of Canada;
• Has accompanying Teacher’s Guides for each module:
• Provides updated news from the Bank of Canada related to the economy, interest rates, forecasts, and changes in Bank policy.

Goals

• Help Canadians have a better understanding of our financial system, the players, and how the system operates;
• Help Canadians better understand the link between money and the economy and factors that lead to changes in inflation, monetary policy, and interest rates;
• Help Canadians make better financial decisions based upon greater understanding of economic realities that can impact Bank of Canada policies and the choices and decisions they may face – such as factors affecting interest rates that they will pay for loans – including mortgages;
• Support teachers in their efforts to provide economic and financial education to students to prepare them for the economic and financial challenges, opportunities, and decisions they will encounter in life.

Outcomes

• Increased confidence among Canadians in their understanding of how the economy and financial system operate;
• Improved financial decision-making and management by Canadians as they better understand factors that can influence the economic and financial choices and decisions they face;
• Increased and improved economic education in schools to help prepare youth to build successful futures;
• Improvements, over time, to the economic well-being of Canadians as they make better decisions to stay in control of their financial affairs and being better able to avoid financial stress.