Celebrating Financial Literacy Month every November is easy, and…entirely insufficient. There has been a huge effort in the last decade to improve financial literacy in Canada — from government, non-profits, academia and industry, but still the needle hasn’t moved.
What are the most intractable barriers? What are the most promising and exciting solutions? Certainly digital interventions, grounded in cutting edge behavioural science, will be key.
Join Canadian Club Toronto on November 4th as we engage in a conversation about the financial challenges Canadians are facing as we emerge from the pandemic, and how better knowledge, insight and behaviour can help address them.
This conversation is free of charge, thanks to the generous support of our sponsors!
A link to the live stream will be provided closer to the event date.
Elizabeth Mulholland
CEO of Prosper Canada
Elizabeth Mulholland is the Chief Executive Officer of Prosper Canada, a national charity dedicated to expanding economic opportunity for Canadians living in poverty through program and policy innovation. Elizabeth joined Prosper Canada in 2011, after a 25-year policy career in the public, private and non-profit sectors, including a decade of independent policy consulting, five years as senior social policy advisor in the Office of the Prime Minister, and five years directing United Ways of Ontario’s government relations program. Elizabeth holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Geology and French from Wellesley College and successfully completed McGill University’s Graduate Summer Program in Epidemiology and Biostatistics.
Idan Shlesinger
President, Retirement & Financial Solutions and Executive Vice President, LifeWorks
Idan Shlesinger is President, Retirement Solutions and Executive Vice President. In this role, Mr. Shlesinger provides leadership and guidance for Morneau Shepell’s Retirement Solutions, Asset and Risk Management and Financial Wellbeing businesses. Mr. Shlesinger joined Morneau Shepell in 2007 as a senior consulting actuary. Since then he has played various roles, most recently as the leader of Morneau Shepell’s DC Solutions business, in which he oversaw Morneau Shepell’s growth to become one of Canada’s largest providers of DC services. He has more than 20 years of experience providing strategic advisory services to corporate and public sector organizations.
Mr. Shlesinger has a passion for creative problem solving and innovation in the retirement and financial wellbeing space. He has a particular interest in helping organizations improve the financial wellbeing of their people, while managing their costs and risks, and has been a frequent speaker and writer on these topics.
He grew up in South Africa and commenced his actuarial studies at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. He immigrated to Canada in 1994 and completed his studies at the University of Toronto. He is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries and of the Society of Actuaries.
Dr. Supriya Syal
Deputy Commissioner, Financial Consumer Agency of Canada
Dr. Supriya Syal is a leading expert in research and evidence-based policy innovation in Canada.
She is the Deputy Commissioner of Research, Policy, and Education at the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, where she is leading the renewal and implementation of the National Financial Literacy Strategy.
She is the former Chief Science Advisor to the Treasury Board Secretariat Talent Cloud, and the former Chief Behavioural Scientist of the Privy Council Office Innovation Hub. Prior to joining the public sector, Dr. Syal was VP Research and Innovation at BEworks Inc. She is also the founder and former President of Dulcimer Labs, a purpose-driven company that creates social impact through evidence-based decision making.
She has won multiple awards, published in top academic and popular journals, and has co-authored a number of policy white papers. She is a regular invited speaker at research, tech and innovative government conferences, and has also appeared on crowdcast, radio and television, including National Public Radio (US) and on TVO’s flagship current affairs show in Canada, The Agenda.
Dr. Syal holds a PhD in psychology from Cornell University, as well as a master’s degree in neuroscience and a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry.
Bruce Sellery
CBC Money Columnist, CEO of Credit Canada
Bruce Sellery is the CEO of Credit Canada, the longest-standing non-profit credit counselling agency in the country. He is also the Money Expert for the lifestyle TV show Cityline, has a weekly, national money column for CBC Radio, and hosts a weekly radio show on personal finance for SiriusXM.
Prior to his role at Credit Canada, Bruce was a commentator for CBC Television’s The Exchange, wrote a column for MoneySense Magazine, hosted Million Dollar Neighbourhood on the Oprah Winfrey Network and was a sought-after keynote speaker on personal finance. He also consulted to major financial institutions on innovation in financial literacy.
Bruce has written two Globe & Mail bestselling books including, “Moolala: Why smart people do dumb things with money (and what you can do about it)” and spent a decade as an anchor for BNN Bloomberg in Toronto and New York City.
He serves on the Board of Venture for Canada, and the Advisory Board of the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University, his alma mater. He is an alumnus of the Governor General’s Leadership Conference, former Chair of Friends of Adoption Options, and former President of the Canadian Club of Toronto.
Bruce lives with his husband and daughter in Toronto.
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