The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the world, pushing the global economy into recession and forcing countries to take on nearly unprecedented levels of public debt. Discussion and debate over the pathway to economic recovery are already underway. In this context, monetary policy is a crucial policy tool.

It is time to start thinking about what monetary policy in the post-pandemic era should look like. In September 2020, with the Bank of Canada's mandate up for renewal, the Max Bell School held a four-day online conference, during which independent economists from across Canada, the United States, and Europe examined the Bank’s mandate and explored the most credible options for the next phase of Canadian monetary policy. Read the resulting research papers by conference presenters, discussants and panelists, each exploring a different option for the mandate's renewal.