Douglas Porter, BMO’s Deputy Chief Economist and Managing Director, helped CFFB kick of its 2011/2012 year.

 

Douglas was the keynote speaker at our September AGM and Program Launch.

 

To get a feel for the audience, the full crowd of family business people and their allies and friends, Douglas asked how people feel about the future.

 

He asked: “Do you feel Optimistic, Cautious, or Pessimistic about business?”

 

While we didn’t record an exact score, here is how the audience responded:

 

Optimistic about the future:	about 50%
Cautious about the future:	about 50%
Pessimistic about the future:	2 or 3%

 

Douglas said our level of Optimism is about double the national average.

 

Then he said something like, “that makes sense…you are family businesses”.

 

I talked with people after the presentation. I asked how they felt about that comment…and family-business people felt good about the comment. I suppose family business people see themselves as being a bit different than other business people. And, if part of that difference is ‘being more optimistic’ then that’s a good thing.

 

Douglas provided some positive economic indicators:

• Oil price relief
• Interest rate relief
• Japan’s recovery
• U.S. households in better shape
• Corporate finances strong
• More Canadians working now than ever before
• Home prices are increasing and home sales are holding
• Canada has a triple-A credit rating

Sure, there are some negatives too. But, with these sorts of positive things it is understandable that half of family businesses are feeling more optimistic than cautious.

 

Thank you, Douglas for doing such a good job of delivering a very well-prepared package of economic information to our CFFB members, sponsors, advisors, and friends. You helped our 2011/2012 year get off to a great start!