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WATERLOO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - June 22, 2015) - Bill Downe, Chief Executive Officer, BMO Financial Group, today paid tribute to the ongoing work being done by the Perimeter Institute (the Institute).

The Institute, based in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, is an independent, non-profit, scientific research organization working to advance the understanding of physical laws and develop new ideas about the very essence of space, time, matter, and information.

Mr. Downe was in Waterloo to attend Convergence, a conference sponsored by BMO and hosted by the Institute which provides a "big picture" overview of fundamental physics and its future. The conference also hosted the first alumni reunion for the Institute.

"The attendance of so many brilliant thinkers in Waterloo for the Convergence conference demonstrates the extent to which Perimeter Institute has firmly established itself as a global leader in scientific research, training and educational outreach," said Mr. Downe.

"Today, we are here celebrating something every bit as important to our country and our competitiveness as the strength of our economy, our productivity and the wisdom of our public policy," he continued. "Perimeter's boundless potential for unlocking new knowledge places it at the very frontier of discovery. Its thinkers can change our world by pushing the boundaries of our current understanding of physical laws. We couldn't be more proud of our association with the Institute - for us it has been a rare privilege. We made a historic gift a few years ago in the hope it would serve as a catalyst for other funders; it's terrific to see visionary new partners stepping forward to support and celebrate Canadian science and the possibilities that will fire the imagination of the next generation of scientists."

In 2010, BMO announced a $4 million investment in the Institute to establish the BMO Financial Group Isaac Newton Chair in Theoretical Physics at Perimeter Institute. This represented the largest single donation made by BMO to support science and remains the largest corporate donation received by the Institute in its history.

Today, the Institute announced strategic new partnerships that will inject more than $4 million into critical fundamental research, training, and outreach occurring at the Institute. These philanthropic investments have come from Cenovus Energy, Gluskin Sheff + Associates, the Peter and Shelagh Godsoe Family Foundation, the Riddell Family Charitable Foundation, and the RBC Foundation.

About BMO Financial Group

Established in 1817, BMO Financial Group is a highly diversified financial services provider based in North America. With total assets of approximately $633 billion as of April 30, 2015, and more than 47,000 employees, BMO provides a broad range of retail banking, wealth management and investment banking products and services to more than 12 million customers and conducts business through three operating groups: Personal and Commercial Banking, Wealth Management and BMO Capital Markets.

About Perimeter Institute

Perimeter Institute is the world's largest research hub devoted to theoretical physics. The independent Institute was founded in 1999 to foster breakthroughs in the fundamental understanding of our universe, from the smallest particles to the entire cosmos. Research at Perimeter is motivated by the understanding that fundamental science advances human knowledge and catalyzes innovation, and that today's theoretical physics is tomorrow's technology. Located in the Region of Waterloo, the not-for-profit Institute is a unique public-private endeavour, including the Governments of Ontario and Canada, that enables cutting-edge research, trains the next generation of scientific pioneers, and shares the power of physics through award-winning educational outreach and public engagement.