News Releases

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Oct. 17, 2011) - On Monday, October 17, BMO Financial Group will be announcing an expanded sponsorship with the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). CHL President David Branch and Frank Techar, President and CEO, Personal and Commercial Banking Canada will reveal details. Hockey legends Doug Gilmour, Marcel Dionne and Gary Roberts will also be on hand to discuss what the partnership means to hockey at the community level.

About the Canadian Hockey League

The Canadian Hockey League is the world's largest development hockey league with 51 Canadian and eight American teams participating in the Ontario Hockey League, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and Western Hockey League. CHL players graduate from high school at a rate higher than the Canadian national average. Last season, more than nine million fans attended CHL games in the regular season, playoffs and at the MasterCard Memorial Cup. The CHL supplies more players to the National Hockey League than any other league. Last season 636 graduates attended North American post-secondary institutions on scholarships from CHL teams.

About BMO and the Canadian Hockey League

For more than 193 years, BMO Financial Group has believed in community reinvestment and corporate and social responsibility in the communities it serves. In 2010, BMO contributed more than $54 million in donations, sponsorships and events in Canada and the United States to groups, organizations and programs that help build and sustain resilient, vital and healthy communities.

For more than a decade, BMO Bank of Montreal has been a proud supporter of the Canadian Hockey League. BMO and MasterCard sponsor the MasterCard Memorial Cup, which features the champions of the Ontario Hockey League, the Western Hockey League, and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Currently, 46 Canadian teams in the CHL participate in the BMO Affinity MasterCard program, providing customers the opportunity to support their favourite teams.