News Releases

CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwire - June 21, 2012) -

Editors Note: There is a photo associated with this press release.

On this, the first full day of summer, Canadians will be breaking out the barbeques for a summertime tradition of grilling. According to a recent BMO survey on food buying habits, Albertans are the most likely to buy Canadian when shopping for beef (83 per cent) - above the national average age (78 per cent) and quite a bit higher than seafood-loving B.C. (71 per cent).

According to BMO Economics, the Alberta cattle industry provided $3.2 billion in farm cash receipts in 2011, or more than 30 per cent of total farm income. Additionally, Alberta is Canada's biggest beef producer.

"If you like your grilled steak, we encourage Canadians to buy Alberta beef. You'll not only get a high quality and safe food product, you'll be supporting beef producers who are a critical and viable component of Canada's economy," said Bill Hogg, Vice President, Commercial Banking, Alberta/NWT, BMO Bank of Montreal.

As the official bank of the Calgary Stampede for the past 100 years, BMO Bank of Montreal is offering five Family Financial Tips leading up to the Centennial Celebrations at Stampede.

BMO Family Financial Tip #4 - Have family and friends over for potluck barbeques

According to the Hearth, Patio and Barbeque Association's (HPBA) survey of consumer grilling preferences, the three top reasons we love our grilled food are: affordability, convenience, and family-friendly fun.

Barbequing is a great choice for Canadian families:

	It's Affordable: Consider this, a family of four out for a steak dinner, with dessert but no alcohol would spend about $130. It would cost on average $35 to buy the similar grocery products for a home barbeque - a savings of $95. You can also save by opting for less expensive cuts of meat or looking for meat sales at the grocery store.
	It's Convenient: With the warm summer temperatures, grilling allows you to keep that extra heat outside instead of heating up the kitchen and your oven. You can cook most components of a meal on the grill. Many side dishes, like corn, tomatoes, peaches and asparagus, taste especially good cooked over an open flame. Clean-up is easier too.
	It's a Great Way to Spend Time with Family and Friends: Barbecuing is a social event. By treating a barbecue as an outdoor potluck; it's a fun way for everyone to share in the cost of a meal by each person contributing one food item for the group.

The BMO Survey on Canadian food purchasing habits was conducted by Pollara online, between May 18 and May 23, 2012, with a random sample of 1,011 Canadians.

BMO's Family Financial Tips:

May 29, 2012 - Tip #1 - Round up your family for regular money talks

June 7, 2012 - Tip #2 - Life lessons for kids from family garage sales

June 14, 2012 - Tip #3 - Plan ahead and set a budget for your family vacation

About BMO Financial Group

BMO Financial Group is proud to be the official bank of the Calgary Stampede for the past 100 years. That's why we're corralling the community to celebrate with us at our special events - the BMO Farm Family Awards and BMO Kids' Day.

Established in 1817 as Bank of Montreal, BMO Financial Group is a highly-diversified North American financial services organization. With total assets of $525 billion as at April 30, 2012, and more than 46,000 employees, BMO Financial Group provides a broad range of retail banking, wealth management and investment banking products and solutions.

To view the photo associated with this press release, please visit the following link: http://www.marketwire.com/library/20120621-BMO_Farm_Family2011_8.jpg.