September 14, 2016

Ms. Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), issued the following statement today:

“It is a great pleasure to visit Ottawa. I had the privilege of meeting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, William Morneau, Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, Minister of International Trade and many of their colleagues. During my visit, I also had the opportunity to meet with Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, and Kathleen Wynne, the Premier of Ontario.

“In my discussion with the authorities, I expressed my full support for the government’s growth strategy. Now more than ever, authorities need to use all the tools available to revitalize short-term demand and to accelerate structural reforms as to raise labor productivity growth over the medium-term. I agreed that investment in infrastructure, innovation and training, and promoting higher female labor force participation should be essential elements of this growth strategy. I welcomed the government’s commitment to put a price on climate damage while protecting the poor from any distributional effects. I encouraged the government to stay the course on the economy and to remain vigilant against vulnerabilities in the housing sector.

“I expressed my appreciation for Canada’s contributions to global stability and economic development around the world, including through its contribution to the IMF’s financial resources as well as its valuable support for the Fund’s assistance to low-income and developing countries and capacity development.

“I also had the pleasure to participate in the Toronto Global Forum and to give the Sylvia Ostry Lecture hosted by the C.D. Howe Institute. My remarks focused on the positive and negative consequences of integration and globalization and the policies needed to mitigate the negatives and foster stronger, more inclusive growth.

These were themes I also discussed with Prime Minister Trudeau and his team and we agreed such policies were a global priority.

“I would like to thank the authorities and the Canadian people for their gracious hospitality.”