Who's next for the hot seat?

And while we're on the subject of Stephen Poloz, we should note that he is now in the final months of his tenure as Governor of the Bank of Canada -- his term ends on June 2.  If you would like to apply for the job, here's how, but I should warn you that there's an internal candidate who seems to have the inside track for the role: Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Wilkins.

It is much to Governor Poloz's credit that, in contrast to some of his limelight-hungry predecessors, he has given his senior colleagues, including Ms Wilkins, every opportunity to develop a public profile.  Ms Wilkins has made any number of significant policy speeches in the last couple of years and -- assuming of course that she wants the job -- there's every reason to think that she would be a very good Governor.

The only slight downside for her is that if she gets the job, she might never entirely escape the idea that her appointment was just another example of Justin Trudeau's endless virtue signalling. There are no doubt other good candidates out there -- including former Senior Deputy Governor Tiff Macklem, who was passed over when Poloz got the job and is currently in academia -- but Ms Wilkins looks like the right choice.

What's next for Gov. Poloz?  He is currently undertaking what at least one journalist is characterizing as a farewell tour, giving me the unmissable opportunity to post a link with a picture of Cher in it. Poloz is using his imminent freedom to sound off on a wide variety of topics, from Donald Trump's trade wars to Canada's inter-provincial trade barriers. His example of the latter focuses, bizarrely it must be said, on the design of construction workers' toilet seats.  How exactly did he come to know about that??

Before he took over at the Bank, Poloz was primarily an international trade specialist, so here's a thought.  During the recent election campaign there was some discussion of trying to reduce those inter-provincial barriers.  Poloz, who has grown immensely in public esteem in his current job, would be an ideal candidate for the task of strong-arming the recalcitrant Provincial Premiers and finally bringing true internal free trade to Canada, should Finance Minister Bill Morneau decide to make the effort. Poloz says his wife doesn't want him hanging around the house, and this would be a job that would require a whole lot of travel, so....