Dawn Desjardins joins Deloitte Canada as chief economist

Dawn Desjardins, former deputy chief economist at Royal Bank Canada, has joined Deloitte Canada as chief economist.

Desjardins succeeds Craig Alexander, who held the role for four-and-a-half years. Alexander now runs his own independent economic consulting firm.

In the role, Desjardins will lead the Big Four accountancy’s macroeconomic research and forecasting group, as well as provide guidance and solutions on pressing economic challenges.

“With Dawn at the helm of economic forecasting, research, and analysis, Deloitte Canada will continue to produce leading economic insights and influence change and national conversations to drive the Canadian economy forward,” said Anthony Viel, CEO of Deloitte Canada. “Canadians rely on us to provide a trusted economic perspective on current and emerging trends impacting our economy today and tomorrow.”

Desjardins previously spent 16 years within RBC’s economics team, latterly serving as the bank’s deputy chief economist. During her tenure, Desjardins conducted and supervised research focused on the drivers of Canada’s economic growth, labour markets and the future of work, monetary policy, and inflation. She was also the lead author of several reports analyzing the impact of the pandemic on women’s labour market participation.

One of the leading female economists in the Canadian private sector, Desjardins is a prominent voice on economic issues affecting women and underrepresented groups.

Before joining RBC, Desjardins was a reporter at Bloomberg Financial News covering the Canadian bond and currency markets, and before that was the Canadian bond market strategist at JP Morgan Canada.

She has a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Toronto.

“Dawn is a voice of authority on the Canadian economy and she continues to inspire other economists to share their valued and unique perspectives to raise awareness, start conversations, and drive policy discussions on economic issues,” said Trevin Stratton, Americas leader and partner, economic advisory, Deloitte. “Her deep knowledge of financial markets and the Canadian economy will help guide us through changing economic conditions and will help our clients and decisions makers as they look to insulate against both new and ongoing risks, and plan for a sustainable future.”