May 26, 2026
Canada’s labour market: between cycles and structural change
External Deputy Governor Nicolas Vincent explores the factors driving recent shifts in Canada’s labour market and the implications for monetary policy.
Bio
Nicolas Vincent was appointed Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada, effective August 2026. In this role, he oversees the analysis of international economic developments and serves as the Bank’s G7 and G20 Deputy. As a member of the Bank’s Governing Council, he also shares responsibility for decisions related to monetary policy and financial stability.
At the time of his appointment, Mr. Vincent was serving as an external Deputy Governor and member of the Bank's Governing Council, a role he had held since 2023. He was also a professor of economics at HEC Montréal and co-chair of the Business Cycles and Financial Markets research theme at CIRANO (Centre interuniversitaire de recherche en analyse des organisations).
Mr. Vincent began his career as an economist at the Department of Finance Canada in 2000. He joined HEC Montréal in 2007 as an assistant professor, became an associate professor in 2013 and was appointed full professor in 2021. He has been a visiting and adjunct faculty member and researcher at numerous institutions, including Columbia Business School, INSEAD, the Banque de France and the Kellogg School of Management.
Mr. Vincent was the recipient of the 2021 Marcel Dagenais Award for Outstanding Contribution to Economic Research in Quebec and Canada and of a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Insight Grant from 2022 to 2026. He was also named Young Researcher of the Year at HEC Montréal in 2012 and has received multiple Teacher of the Year awards from HEC Montréal and INSEAD.
Born in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Mr. Vincent holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in applied economics from HEC Montréal, a master’s degree in economics from Queen’s University and a PhD in economics from Northwestern University.
Speeches
November 19, 2025
Toward a virtuous circle for productivity
External Deputy Governor Nicolas Vincent discusses the most critical areas to focus on to improve Canada's productivity, which would make the economy more resilient and raise everyone's standard of living.
September 19, 2024
Monetary policy decision-making: Behind the scenes
External Deputy Governor Nicolas Vincent gives a behind the scenes look at the rigorous research, analysis and debate that go into every monetary policy decision.
October 3, 2023
Understanding the unusual: How firms set prices during periods of high inflation
Deputy Governor Nicolas Vincent discusses how firms set their prices and how pricing behaviour changed in our recent environment of high inflation.
Staff research
Housing Affordability and Parental Income Support
In many countries, the cost of housing has greatly outpaced income growth, leading to a housing affordability crisis. Leveraging Canadian loan-level data and quasi-experimental variation in payment-to-income constraints, we document an increasing reliance of first-time homebuyers on financial help from their parents, through mortgage co-signing. We show that parental support can effectively relax borrowing constraints—potentially to riskier borrowers.
Debt-Relief Programs and Money Left on the Table: Evidence from Canada's Response to COVID-19
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadian financial institutions offered debt-relief programs to help borrowers cope with job losses and economic insecurity. We consider the low take-up rates for these programs and suggest that to be effective, such programs must be visible and easy to use.