Claire Kennedy was appointed to the Bank of Canada’s Board of Directors in December 2012, and served as the Board’s Lead Director from July 2018 to July 2025. Born in Toronto, Ontario, Ms. Kennedy received her BASc in Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry from the University of Toronto in 1989 and her LL.B from Queen’s University in 1994. Called to the bar in Ontario in 1996, Ms. Kennedy was law clerk to the late Honourable Mr. Justice Charles D. Gonthier of the Supreme Court of Canada.
Ms. Kennedy served as a senior tax partner at Bennett Jones LLP before becoming Senior Advisor, Clients and Industries, where she supported the firm's strategic growth initiatives. She retired from the firm in June 2025.
Ms. Kennedy is a director and Chair of the Audit Committee of Alamos Gold Inc. and a director of Constellation Software Inc. and CDL Global. She served as Chair of the Board at Neo Performance Materials Inc. from July 2020 until her retirement from the Board in June 2025. Ms. Kennedy served on the University of Toronto’s (U of T’s) Governing Council from 2012-2021, including four years as Chair. She is also a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board at the Rotman School of Management and is Co-Chair of U of T's Defy Gravity campaign.
Ms. Kennedy has an ICD.D designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors, and has completed the Making Corporate Boards More Effective program at Harvard Business School, the Financial Literacy Program for Directors and Executives at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and the Advanced Management Program at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.