Pedro Antunes – Keynote Speaker

Chief Economist, The Conference Board of Canada

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Specialist Subjects

  • Inflation, Pandemic and War — Forecasting in a Time of Uncertainty
  • Economics
  • Finance
  • Labour Market
  • Future of Work
  • Inflation
  • Trade
  • Economic forecasting
  • Consumer trends

Language

  • English

Biography

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.”

Popular Talks by Pedro Antunes

Inflation, Pandemic and War — Forecasting in a Time of Uncertainty

Just as we seemed to be emerging from a two-year long pandemic, the world is hit with another tragedy—Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. The confluence of inflation, pandemic and war have led to unprecedented fiscal support, rapid tech adoption, a labour market crunch and the sharpest commodity price shock in recent history. How will these massive changes affect Canada’s economy? During this presentation, Pedro will discuss the Conference Board’s latest economic forecast for the Global and Canadian economies. How will inflation, rising interest rates and the winding down of government pandemic supports affect households and employees? What are the impacts of the war in Ukraine on Canada’s economy? And how will the war affect the energy transition and global supply chains in the future? Pedro will also share insights on what employers need to know about the current state of the Canadian labour market. What impact will “The Great Resignation”, “The War for Talent”, and “The Great Retirement” have on the economy and workforce in the coming years? As the Conference Board’s Chief Economist, Pedro Antunes is the thought leader and spokesperson for the Conference Board’s suite of economic forecast products, as well as other reports and economic indicators that relate to Canada and its regions. Mr. Antunes has provided expert testimony before parliamentary committees. He makes numerous presentations on economic topics and dialogues with Canadian leaders, the public and media about issues important to Canada. Pedro joined the Conference Board as an economist in 1991 after working with the Canadian Forecasting Group at the Bank of Canada. Pedro has worked on a wide range of economic modelling and research projects in Canada and overseas.

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