BMO and CFEE Expand Financial Literacy Program in Canada

TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 04/15/15 -- Talk With Our Kids About Money Day continues to expand across Canada this year. The program, developed by the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education (CFEE) in partnership with BMO Financial Group, offers a simple way to help young Canadians learn more about money and personal finances.

Talk With Our Kids About Money Day was launched two years ago in Toronto and Montreal. Since then, the program has expanded across Ontario, Quebec, and the Prairies, with more than 2000 schools expected to participate across Canada. On April 15 this year, Talk With Our Kids About Money Day will also take place across Alberta and Atlantic Canada.

The program encourages parents and teachers to have conversations with youth about money and personal finances. The annual event takes place the third Wednesday in April with a "Home Program" for families and a "School Program" for Grade Seven students and teachers. Parents and teachers can visit www.talkwithourkidsaboutmoney.com for free access to current resources and curriculum ideas.

"The Harper government has made financial literacy a priority," said Hon. Kevin Sorenson, Minister of State (Finance). "We have taken several measures to enhance the financial literacy of all Canadians and we applaud partners such as the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education and BMO Financial Group for creating the Talk With Our Kids About Money Day program. This is an exemplary way to engage parents and teachers to help us achieve our shared goal - helping our children build a successful financial future."

"The Talk With Our Kids About Money Day program, created by CFEE and BMO Financial Group, demonstrates the kind of initiative that I hope to encourage across Canada - widespread participation, engagement and collaboration to strengthen financial literacy of Canadians said Jane Rooney, Canada's Financial Literacy Leader. "We have an important task to do and TWOKAM illustrates what is possible when we look for ways to work together in innovative and creative ways."

Highlights of School Program:

--  Easy-to-use lesson plans for teachers on how to incorporate money and
    finance into social studies, math, science, history, geography, music
    and art
--  Group discussion and debate ideas
--  Resources and interactive tools for teachers

Highlights of Parent Program:

--  Online access to ideas, activities, stories, resources, tools and videos
--  Discussion starters, interaction information and helpful resources links
--  Support resources organized by childrens' age range

"Talk With Our Kids About Money reaches beyond encouraging and helping parents and teachers to talk with our kids about money," said Gary Rabbior, President and Chief Executive Officer, CFEE. "It provides an opportunity for many people who think this is important to get involved and to take steps in their own communities, and within their own organization, to support financial literacy and education efforts. The impact of the program is, happily, exceeding our expectations."

"BMO is here to help parents and teachers start a conversation with our youth about money and financial planning. The goal of Talk With Our Kids About Money Day is to bridge the information gap and arm youth with the knowledge they need to become more financially confident," said Joanna Rotenberg, Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Strategy, BMO Financial Group.

Personal Finances in the Home

According to a BMO poll released today, Canadians would much rather talk to their kids about the facts of life than the family's financial situation (66 per cent vs 34 per cent), indicating a lack of comfort among parents with having the "money" talk.

Furthermore, the poll revealed:

--  Only a quarter of parents feel strongly that they are equipped to give
    their children a solid financial education
--  Fewer than half (46 per cent) of Canadians are optimistic about the
    financial future of children and almost half (49 per cent) blame a lack
    of financial education for this outlook
--  Fewer than one third (30 per cent) of Canadians believe that kids who
    are graduating now are well prepared for their financial future

Regional Breakdown

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                TOTAL   ATL    QC    ON Prairies    AB    BC
                                  (%)   (%)   (%)   (%)      (%)   (%)   (%)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percentage of Canadians who
 would rather talk about the
 facts of life with their
 children than finances            66    60    88    59       57    64    53
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percentage of parents who feel
 strongly that they are
 equipped to provide a
 financial education               25    16    21    29       25    28    25
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percentage of parents
 optimistic about the financial
 future of children                49    49    49    48       50    48    41
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1)  Survey results cited in this release are from a Pollara survey
     commissioned by BMO Financial Group with an online random sample of
     1,006 adult Canadians, between January 27thand 29th, 2015. As a
     guideline, a probability sample of this size would yield results
     accurate to +/- 3.1%, 19 times out of 20.

Data has been weighted by region, gender, and age, based on the most recent
Census figures, so that it is representative of all adult Canadians.

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 financial services organization based in North America. The bank offers a broad range of retail banking, wealth management and investment banking products and services to more than 12 million customers. BMO Financial Group had total assets of approximately $672 billion and more than 47,000 employees at January 31, 2015.

Contacts:
Media Contacts:
Canadian Foundation for Economic Education
Joseph Clark
(416) 893-8772 / (416) 968-2236
[email protected]

BMO Financial Group
Karen Cleveland, Toronto
416-867-3996
[email protected]

Valerie Doucet, Montreal
(514) 877-8224
[email protected]

Source: BMO Financial Group and Canadian Foundation for Economic Education

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