News Releases

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - April 16, 2013) - Ahead of the inaugural Talk With Our Kids About Money Day - a new financial literacy program for families, students and teachers - BMO Financial Group encourages Canadians to show their support for financial literacy in Canada online by tweeting #TWOKAM.

According to the BMO Financial Literacy Poll, the vast majority of Canadians (99 per cent) agree it is important to develop good financial habits early in life and 96 per cent believe that schools need to do more to teach children and teenagers about finances.

"Financial literacy is critical to the financial well-being of families, as well as the overall economy, and should continue to be a focus for all involved," said L. Jacques Ménard, Chairman of BMO Nesbitt Burns and Federal Financial Literacy Task Force Vice-Chair. "The Talk With Our Kids About Money program marks a milestone for the improvement of financially literacy in Canada and sends a strong signal that parents, schools and other stakeholders recognize the importance of having frank and open discussions that will help children in Canada become more confident in their decisions about money."

"It's essential to make time to talk to kids about basic financial matters and teach them money management skills at an early age," said Gary Rabbior, President, CFEE. "An overwhelming majority of Canadian parents would like schools to increase their efforts around financial education, which is why the new Talk With Our Kids About Money Day program is the ideal tool to facilitate this discussion."

The new program, offered by the Canadian Federation Economic Education, and supported by BMO, includes:

• Website with resources, ideas, activities, etc. for families and teachers.
• Teachers' Guide for schools in the greater metropolitan areas of Toronto and Montreal registering to participate (plus additional resources, tools and supports on the website) expanding to other provinces beginning in 2014.

As part of the program, BMO and CFEE have launched a contest that encourages families to "share their story" either by writing a brief description, taking a picture or shooting a brief video about their experience in having "a talk" with kids about money and posting it on the website.

The winner, drawn at random from the top five entries with the most "votes", will receive a $2,500 Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) courtesy of BMO, which can help with building a child's future. To learn more and to enter the contest, please visit www.talkwithourkidsaboutmoney.com/win. The contest closes on April 30, 2013.

The online survey was conducted by Pollara between March 11 and 12, 2013, with a sample of 1,000 Canadians 18 years of age and over. A probability sample of this size would produce results accurate to +/- 3.1 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

About CFEE:

CFEE is a federally chartered, non-profit, non-partisan organization, founded in 1974, that works to improve economic and financial literacy and enterprising capability. CFEE works collaboratively with ministries and departments of education along with school boards, schools, educators, and teacher associations. CFEE also engages in activities to support and assist newcomers and past immigrants to Canada, and the general public including print resources, videos, workshops, and online resources. Overall, CFEE aspires to help Canadians of all ages be better prepared to undertake their economic roles, responsibilities, and decisions with confidence and competence.

About BMO Financial Group

Established in 1817 as Bank of Montreal, BMO Financial Group is a highly diversified North American financial services organization. With total assets of $542 billion as at January 31, 2013, and more than 46,000 employees, BMO Financial Group provides a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management and investment banking products and solutions.