Financial Literacy Leader Chosen

Jane Rooney has been selected as the Financial Literacy Leader of Canada. The Task Force on Financial Literacy provided 30 recommendations, including the appointment of a Financial Literacy Leader, to help Canadians become equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to make responsible financial decisions.

The Financial Literacy Leader Act provided for the appointment of a Financial Literacy Leader within the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada. Ms. Rooney’s mandate, according to the announcement made on April 15, will be to collaborate and coordinate activities with stakeholders to contribute to and support initiatives that strengthen the financial literacy of Canadians.

Ms. Rooney’s biography was shared at that time and is reproduced below:

Ms. Rooney joined the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) in 2002, and since 2008 has been Director, Financial Literacy and Consumer Education.

In this role she directed and implemented two national, separately funded education programs – one with a focus on financial literacy that helps Canadians increase their financial knowledge and confidence in managing their personal finances; the second on consumer education which aims to increase consumers’ knowledge and awareness of financial products and services, as well as their rights and responsibilities in this area. 

The innovative approach taken by Ms. Rooney and her financial literacy team earned them a 2010 Public Service Award of Excellence for the successful development of the popular The City: A Financial Life Skills Resource, a simulated online world that offers an interactive, engaging and fun way for students to learn about money.

Ms. Rooney is a member of a number of committees working on financial literacy within Canada and abroad. She is the Chair of the Government of Canada’s Interdepartmental Committee on Financial Literacy. She is also Canada’s representative on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) International Financial Education Network and on the OECD’s Advisory Board for the International Network on Financial Education.

Her previous work experience includes almost eight years as a policy analyst at the Canadian Payments Association, the organization that developed and operates the Canadian payments system. In that capacity, Ms. Rooney was a member of a number of Canadian committees that examined payment policy issues.

Ms. Rooney holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Carleton University.