Canada’s banks are strong advocates for improving the financial literacy of Canadians and support a variety of programs and initiatives to help Canadians better understand financial matters and improve their money management skills.
Many Canadians look to banks as a trusted source of financial information and banks are working in their communities to provide consumers with the information they need to make sound financial decisions. Here are a few examples of programs and partnerships that banks lead or support:
Banks recognize that providing young Canadians with information and tools to understand the importance of money management at an early age helps improve the financial literacy of Canadians as a whole. In addition to the initiatives sponsored or led by the individual banks to promote financial literacy, the banks also jointly support a non-commercial in-class seminar called Your Money. For over ten years the CBA has coordinated the Your Money seminar program, a free 50-minute non-commercial financial literacy seminar for senior high school students about:
Developed in partnership with the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC), the Your Money seminar is presented by more than 600 community bankers from across Canada who volunteer their time and expertise to deliver the seminar in schools. The interactive seminar gives students the opportunity to learn about real-life financial subjects and to ask questions about the issues that matter most to them. To date, more than 200,000 students have participated in the program.
Teachers can request a seminar any time during the school year by contacting the CBA. Teachers will be matched with a local banker volunteer to present the seminar to their class. Interested teachers can visit www.yourmoney.cba.ca, or contact the Your Money seminar coordinator at 416.362.6093 ext. 260.
In 2009, the CBA was honoured with an Alberta Consumer Champion Award from Service Alberta for Your Money in recognition of the Association’s commitment to providing high school students with the information needed to navigate the financial world around them.
Your Money also complements The City, a web-based financial education resource developed by the FCAC in collaboration with the British Columbia Security Commission. Teachers using The City can bring in a Your Money banker as a guest speaker to discuss the financial issues addressed in The City's 11 learning modules.
As part of its efforts to support youth, the CBA also supports the Forum for Young Canadians. The Forum experience brings students to Ottawa for an academic adventure that immerses them in the intense world of national politics and public affairs.
And for almost 20 years, the Parliamentary Internship Programme (PIP) has received funding and support from the CBA. The PIP is a non-partisan initiative that gives young Canadians an opportunity to work on Parliament Hill with both Government and Opposition Members of Parliament. Since 1969, almost 400 young Canadians have benefitted from the Programme, with many going on to senior positions in the academic, public and private spheres.
The Federal Government has highlighted the importance of financial literacy. In 2009, the federal government created the Task Force on Financial Literacy to develop a national strategy to strengthen the financial literacy of all Canadians. The CBA made a submission to the Task Force as part of its consultations. The Task Force delivered its report to the government in February 2011 and the CBA strongly supports many of the recommendations.
