Heading into fall 2026, you’re booking speakers into an economy that won’t sit still. On 10 June 2026 the Bank of Canada held its policy rate at 2.25% for a fifth straight decision, caught between a soft economy and inflation pushed up by higher energy prices — and it signalled it could move either way depending on U.S. trade restrictions. Tariffs and trade uncertainty are still weighing on Canadian exports and business investment, and AI adoption is reshaping how teams work. Your audience walks in with real questions, and they want answers from someone who has lived the policy, the markets, or the boardroom.
That’s where the right speaker earns their fee. Below are the economists, former central bankers, and finance commentators we book most often through ProSpeakers.com — each one verified, current, and matched to a clear type of event. We’ll help you choose the voice that fits your goal, at no additional charge.
Key Takeaways
For fall 2026, our most-requested economic and finance speakers span four needs: personal finance and behaviour (David Chilton, Morgan Housel, Peter Ricchiuti), Canadian macro and monetary policy (Jeff Rubin, Don Drummond, David Dodge, Stephen Poloz), global and geopolitical risk (Ian Bremmer, John Rapley, David McWilliams), and finance MCs/moderators (Howard Green, Amber Kanwar).
- Two former Bank of Canada governors — David Dodge and Stephen Poloz — are on our roster, alongside a former TD Bank chief economist and a former CIBC World Markets chief economist.
- Fees vary by speaker, date, and format and are quoted in Canadian dollars; travel and accommodation are budgeted separately.
- There is no additional charge for ProSpeakers.com‘s services — we match the right speaker to your event goal and manage the logistics.
Who are the best economic and finance keynote speakers to book in Canada for fall 2026?
The best pick depends on your goal, not a ranking. If you want to help staff with their own money, you want a personal-finance voice; if you want a read on rates, tariffs, and the Canadian outlook, you want a macro economist or former governor; if your risk is geopolitical, you want a global strategist; and if you need someone to run the room, you want a finance-literate host. The roster below is organised that way so you can shortlist quickly. Tell us your date, audience, and objective, and we’ll narrow it to two or three names.
Who can demystify personal finance and behavioural economics for your audience?
If your goal is to help employees or members make better decisions with their own money, choose a speaker who teaches behaviour, not stock tips. Three stand out for fall 2026.
David Chilton — common-sense money, minus the jargon
David Chilton wrote The Wealthy Barber, Canada’s all-time bestselling book, and later sat as a Dragon on CBC’s Dragons’ Den. An economics graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University, he earned the highest mark in Canada on the Canadian Securities Course, taking the 1985 H.L. Gassard Memorial Award — then built a career making financial planning approachable and funny rather than intimidating.
Why Chilton resonates in fall 2026: with households absorbing several years of higher prices and waves of mortgage renewals, his no-gimmicks, perspective-first message lands harder than any hot take on the market.
What he speaks about: financial-planning basics, perspective and resilience, behind-the-scenes stories from Dragons’ Den. Best for: employee financial-wellness days, member and association events, and conferences that want an approachable, genuinely funny finance keynote.
See David Chilton’s full bio on ProSpeakers.com →
Morgan Housel — the psychology behind money decisions
Morgan Housel is the New York Times bestselling author of The Psychology of Money and Same As Ever, a partner at the Collaborative Fund, and a former columnist for The Wall Street Journal and The Motley Fool. His books have sold in the millions and been translated into dozens of languages, and he is a two-time winner of the Best in Business award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers and a recipient of the New York Times Sidney Award.
Why Housel resonates in fall 2026: when markets are jumpy and headlines whipsaw, his focus on behaviour over forecasting helps audiences make calmer, longer-term decisions as volatility and affordability pressures also shape consumer behaviour.
What he speaks about: behavioural finance, building long-term wealth, and why smart people make poor money choices under pressure, with practical insights audiences can actually apply. Best for: wealth-management client events, investor audiences, and leadership offsites. He travels from Seattle, so a virtual keynote is an easy option for Canadian events.
See Morgan Housel’s full bio on ProSpeakers.com →
Peter Ricchiuti — investing fundamentals, delivered with humour
Peter Ricchiuti has taught finance at Tulane University’s Freeman School of Business since 1986, where he has twice been voted top professor. In 1993 he founded the student-run Burkenroad Reports stock-research programme, and earlier in his career he managed Louisiana’s US$3 billion portfolio as assistant state treasurer. He wrote Stocks Under Rocks, hosts the NPR show Out to Lunch, and has addressed more than 1,400 groups across 47 states and several countries.
Why Ricchiuti resonates in fall 2026: he blends humour with fundamentals, which is exactly the reassuring, entertaining tone investors want when the outlook is uncertain.
What he speaks about: market fundamentals, finding overlooked small-cap value, and the cyclical nature of markets. Best for: advisor-client events and investment conferences that want an entertaining U.S.-markets voice. Browse related options on our Business and Economy page.
Request Peter Ricchiuti’s full bio and availability from our team.
Who can explain inflation, interest rates, financial markets, and Canada’s economy right now?
For a credible read on rates, tariffs, and the Canadian outlook, book an economist who has set policy or forecast it for a living. Four of ours have done exactly that.
Jeff Rubin — inflation, energy, and the end of cheap globalisation
Jeff Rubin spent two decades as Chief Economist at CIBC World Markets, where he was ranked Canada’s top financial-market economist ten times, and he was among the first economists in the world to predict triple-digit oil prices back in 2005. He is the bestselling author of Why Your World Is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller and, most recently, A Map of the New Normal: How Inflation, War, and Sanctions Will Change Your World Forever (2024).
Why Rubin resonates in fall 2026: tariffs, sanctions, energy shocks, and deglobalisation are his core beat — and the Bank of Canada has pointed to exactly those forces as it weighs its next move.
What he speaks about: inflation and interest rates, energy and commodities, supply chains and deglobalisation, and the Canadian dollar. Best for: energy, manufacturing, real estate, and finance audiences that want a blunt, opinionated macro read.
See Jeff Rubin’s full bio on ProSpeakers.com →
Don Drummond — fiscal policy from inside the budget room
Don Drummond spent more than two decades at the federal Department of Finance, rising to Associate Deputy Minister and coordinating Canada’s annual federal budgets, before serving as Senior Vice-President and Chief Economist at TD Bank from 2000 to 2010. He is now the Stauffer-Dunning Fellow at Queen’s University and a Fellow-in-Residence at the C.D. Howe Institute.
Why Drummond resonates in fall 2026: as governments wrestle with deficits, productivity, and the cost of tariffs, few people can connect fiscal policy to household and business reality the way he can, especially with Canada still the second fastest-growing G7 economy and direct investment at a 20-year high.
What he speaks about: federal and provincial fiscal policy, public policy, taxes and debt, productivity, and how decisions from government and the federal government reach households, businesses, and balance sheets. Best for: banks, credit unions, boards, and policy-oriented audiences that want non-partisan, data-grounded analysis.
See Don Drummond’s full bio on ProSpeakers.com →
David Dodge — a former governor on monetary policy and stability
David Dodge served as the seventh Governor of the Bank of Canada from 2001 to 2008, after stints as Deputy Minister of Finance and Deputy Minister of Health. He holds an honours economics degree from Queen’s University and a PhD from Princeton, and he is an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Why Dodge resonates in fall 2026: with the current Bank holding at 2.25% and weighing trade risk, a former governor’s perspective on monetary policy and financial-system stability carries real weight in a boardroom.
What he speaks about: monetary policy, fiscal sustainability, financial-system stability, and the evolving banking landscape. Best for: financial-institution client events, executive offsites, and policy conferences seeking credible, Canada-focused analysis.
See David Dodge’s full bio on ProSpeakers.com →
Stephen Poloz — navigating a riskier, more uncertain economy
Stephen Poloz was the ninth Governor of the Bank of Canada, from June 2013 to June 2020, steering the country through the 2014 oil shock and the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic. His book The Next Age of Uncertainty won the 2023 National Business Book Award, and he now serves as Special Advisor at Osler. He holds a BA from Queen’s University and an MA and PhD from Western University.
Why Poloz resonates in fall 2026: his entire thesis is about navigating a riskier, more volatile economy shaped by aging, debt, technology, and climate in uncertain times — which is precisely the mood your audience brings to the room this year.
What he speaks about: monetary policy and inflation, the long-run forces reshaping the economy, including innovation, and trade and uncertainty. Best for: corporate and association audiences that want a former governor who explains uncertainty in plain language and delivers actionable insights. See related voices on our Future Trends and Global Economy page.
Request Stephen Poloz’s full bio and availability from our team.
Who can decode geopolitics, future trends, and the global economy?
When your biggest risk is geopolitical — trade wars, elections, conflict — book a global strategist who reads politics and markets together. Three of ours work at that intersection.
Ian Bremmer — geopolitical risk and the “G-Zero” world
Ian Bremmer is the political scientist who founded Eurasia Group, the geopolitical-risk advisory firm, in 1998, and later GZERO Media. He coined the term “G-Zero” to describe a world without dominant global leadership, writes as a columnist and editor-at-large for Time, and oversees Eurasia Group’s closely watched annual Top Risks report.
Why Bremmer resonates in fall 2026: U.S. trade policy, elections, and conflict, including flashpoints in the Middle East, are now first-order business risks, and he translates them into decisions boards and investors can actually act on.
What he speaks about: geopolitical risk, U.S.–China competition, trade wars and tariffs, AI and technology rivalry, and elections. Best for: board strategy sessions and senior leaders in executive or investor audiences. He is U.S.-based and commands a premium fee; a virtual session is an option for tighter budgets.
See Ian Bremmer’s full bio on ProSpeakers.com →
John Rapley — the long history behind today’s disruption
John Rapley is a political economist at the University of Cambridge and co-creator of the Caribbean Policy Research Institute. He is the author of Twilight of the Money Gods and, with historian Peter Heather, Why Empires Fall, and he contributes regularly to The Globe and Mail, The New York Times, The Guardian, and Foreign Affairs.
Why Rapley resonates in fall 2026: he connects today’s populism, inequality, and shifting trade to long historical cycles, which helps leaders see past the daily headlines to what’s structural.
What he speaks about: globalisation and inequality, debt crises, the long arc of Western economies, and development. Best for: thought-leadership summits and executive audiences that want big-picture, intellectually substantial context.
See John Rapley’s full bio on ProSpeakers.com →
David McWilliams — global economics, made genuinely entertaining
David McWilliams is an adjunct professor of global economics at Trinity College Dublin, founder of the Kilkenomics festival — which pairs economics with stand-up comedy — and co-founder of the Dalkey Book Festival. He worked as an economist at Ireland’s Central Bank and in financial markets at BNP and UBS, has written several bestsellers including The Pope’s Children and The History of Money, and hosts one of Europe’s most popular economics podcasts.
Why McWilliams resonates in fall 2026: he makes money and macroeconomics genuinely entertaining, and his European and global lens reframes the same forces hitting Canada from a fresh angle.
What he speaks about: the history and future of money, global markets and currencies, the meeting point of geopolitics and economics, and making economics accessible. Best for: conferences that want a high-energy, witty headline economist, and international finance audiences. He travels from Ireland; virtual sessions are available.
See David McWilliams’s full bio on ProSpeakers.com →
Who is the right host, moderator, or MC for a finance event?
If you need someone to run a finance-heavy agenda and draw the best from your panellists, book a broadcaster who has interviewed thousands of CEOs and central bankers. Two of ours are specialists.
Howard Green — a founding BNN anchor who has run the room
Howard Green was a founding anchor at BNN (now BNN Bloomberg), where he hosted the flagship show Headline with Howard Green and conducted roughly 14,000 interviews over 15 years, from 1999 to 2014. He is a three-time bestselling author and a two-time finalist for the National Business Book Award, with books including Banking on America, Distilled, and Railroader.
Why Green resonates in fall 2026: he is a steady, finance-literate hand to host or moderate complex content and ask the questions your audience is actually thinking.
What he speaks about: markets and media, communicating clearly in uncertainty, and steering fireside chats on current events for finance audiences — plus MC duties and panel moderation. Best for: conferences, association conferences, and AGMs that need an expert host or moderator.
See Howard Green’s full bio on ProSpeakers.com →
Amber Kanwar — a market anchor who translates and moderates
For nearly 15 years, Amber Kanwar was one of Canada’s most recognisable financial news anchors at BNN Bloomberg, hosting shows including The Open, The Disruptors, and Market Call and interviewing CEOs, politicians, and central bankers such as former governors Mark Carney, Stephen Poloz, and David Dodge. She now writes the daily Before the Bell newsletter and hosts the In the Money podcast. She holds a BA from Western University and an MA in journalism from Ryerson.
Why Kanwar resonates in fall 2026: she translates markets, tech, and AI into plain language, with Statistics Canada showing 12.2% of Canadian businesses used AI in 2025, up from 6% in 2024, and is a polished host who keeps a finance event on time and on point.
What she speaks about: markets and the economy, disruptive and emerging technology, artificial intelligence, and investing trends — plus MC and panel moderation. Best for: investor and member events, corporate audiences, and conferences navigating the Canadian market that want a sharp, current finance host, especially as only 24% of Canadian employees received AI education or training.
See Amber Kanwar’s full bio on ProSpeakers.com →
What does it cost to book an economic or finance speaker in Canada?
Fees vary widely by speaker, date, and format, so we quote per event rather than publish fixed numbers. As a general guide, many Canadian economists and finance commentators fall in the $15,000–$50,000 range in Canadian dollars, while former Bank of Canada governors and globally known names such as Ian Bremmer or Morgan Housel sit well above that, and a virtual session typically costs less than a live keynote. Travel and accommodation are budgeted separately for in-person events. Working to a tighter number? We also represent strong voices under five figures — see our speakers $5,000 and under page, and tell us your budget so we can match it. There is no additional charge for ProSpeakers.com‘s services.
How far in advance should you book a speaker for fall 2026?
Aim for three to six months ahead, and earlier for the biggest names. Former governors, high-profile authors, and international speakers fill premium fall dates first, especially around conference season. That said, we manage short-notice bookings regularly, so if your event is close, contact us anyway — we’ll tell you honestly who is available and who fits.
Frequently asked questions
Who are the top Canadian economic and finance speakers for 2026? Our most-requested names include former Bank of Canada governors David Dodge and Stephen Poloz, former TD Bank chief economist Don Drummond, former CIBC World Markets chief economist Jeff Rubin, bestselling authors Morgan Housel and David McWilliams, geopolitical strategist Ian Bremmer, The Wealthy Barber author David Chilton, Cambridge economist John Rapley, and broadcasters Howard Green and Amber Kanwar.
Can these speakers present virtually? Yes. Most of our economic and finance speakers offer virtual keynotes, fireside chats, and moderated panels, which is often the most cost-effective option for U.S.- and Ireland-based speakers presenting to Canadian audiences. See our virtual speakers page.
Which speaker is best for a board or executive audience versus a staff event? For boards and executives weighing strategy, a former governor (Dodge or Poloz) or a geopolitical strategist (Bremmer, Rapley) tends to fit best. For an all-staff or member event focused on personal finance, Chilton, Housel, or Ricchiuti are easier, warmer choices. Tell us the audience and we’ll match it.
Will the speaker tailor the talk to our industry and event? Yes. Our speakers customise their keynotes to your sector, audience size, and goal, and many also offer workshops, panels, and Q&A formats alongside the main talk.
How do we get fees and availability? Contact ProSpeakers.com directly with your date, venue, and audience. We manage negotiations, contracts, and logistics, and there is no additional charge for our services.
We respond within hours, not days — so if your fall 2026 date is set, the sooner you reach out, the more choice you’ll have
Ready to book an economic or finance speaker?
Ready to bring a world-class economic or finance speaker to your stage? Contact Heather MacLean and the ProSpeakers.com team to secure direct access, fee information, and 2026 availability.
Get in touch → **Call: 416.420.4525 (Toronto) Email: [email protected]
Tell us your date, your venue, and your audience — and we’ll recommend the speaker who fits.
ProSpeakers.com is one of Canada’s leading speakers bureaus, based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded and led by Director Heather MacLean, ProSpeakers.com has spent over 30 years connecting organisations with keynote speakers, motivational speakers, business speakers, and entertainers for corporate events, conferences, and virtual presentations across Canada and North America. There is no additional charge for ProSpeakers.com‘s services. Learn more about us.