Pedro Antunes is the Chief Economist and primary spokesperson at The Conference Board of Canada. He provides insights and general direction for the Board’s economic products, including reports and economic indicators that relate to Canada and its regions and sectors. Pedro provides media interviews in English and French as well... Read more
Pedro Antunes is the Chief Economist and primary spokesperson at The Conference Board of Canada. He provides insights and general direction for the Board’s economic products, including reports and economic indicators that relate to Canada and its regions and sectors. Pedro provides media interviews in English and French as well as expert testimony before parliamentary and senate committees. He is widely sought for speaking engagements and presentations to industry leaders and decision-makers on a broad range of issues and topics that impact Canadians.
Pedro Antunes started his professional career in 1987 with the Canadian forecast team at the Bank of Canada, joining the Board in 1991 as part of the provincial forecast team. Over time, he had responsibility for the economic analysis of different provinces and sectors. He also worked on several international projects to help decision-makers in Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan, and Ukraine develop appropriate forecasting and policy analysis tools. Among other topics, Pedro has researched the impact of Canada’s demographic change on labour markets, the fiscal sustainability of health care, productivity, and long-term economic growth.
When he’s not talking to the press, Pedro Antunes spends most of his free time with his poodle, Tiago. They run, snowshoe, X-country ski and toss the ball every day. He also enjoys playing soccer with his old-timer teammates, is a science fiction fan, and occasionally takes on a reading theme—human evolution for example. He’d recommend reading Sapiens, by Yuval Harari.
Pedro Antunes holds a MA in Economics from Queens University and a BA Honours Economics from Bishop’s University. Pedro is fluent in both official languages, English and French.
“Our customers need to look ahead and plan for what is coming, and the economic forecasts are crucial inputs. But the work we do goes beyond the forecasts, it really boils down to guiding the policy debate on important issues to Canada and Canadians with evidence.”