News Releases

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - June 1, 2011) - British Columbia's economy should cool somewhat this year after a strong 2010, but will continue to be buoyed by strong Asian export demand and energy-sector investment, according to the first edition of the BMO Blue Book, a joint publication of BMO Capital Markets Economics and BMO Commercial Banking. Much like the U.S. Federal Reserve's Beige Book, the BMO Blue Book combines the expertise of BMO's economists with information on current business conditions provided to BMO's commercial bankers by local businesspeople.

"Growth is expected to moderate to 3.0 per cent in 2011 from 4.0 per cent the previous year, as residential construction cools and U.S. forestry demand remains soft," said Robert Kavcic, Economist, BMO Capital Markets. "Growth should hold around 3 per cent through 2012."

"The real story is in junior mining," according to Derral Moriyama, Senior Vice-President, Commercial, Greater Vancouver District, BMO Bank of Montreal. "We're seeing internationally based businesses in that sector build mines, sell them off and use the proceeds to start new, bigger ventures – a process helped by the current strong level of commodity prices and the high Canadian dollar. Our BMO Capital Markets team has never seen a greater number of viable deals to consider than they do now."

The full report can be found at www.bmocm.com/economics.