Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will meet with executives from the country's banks and insurers tomorrow to discuss the financial crisis and slowing economy, a government official said.

Harper will hold talks with the executives in Toronto, after a discussion at the C.D. Howe Institute, an economic research group, the aide said, on condition they not be identified. The meetings are part of an effort by Harper to consult industry and non-government officials ahead of a budget update this month, the aide said.

Harper's government last month agreed to provide guarantees on more than C$200 billion ($172 billion) of bank debt to ensure lenders aren't hurt by bailouts offered by other governments. Canada also agreed to purchase as much as C$25 billion in real estate loans from the banks, freeing up more cash to lend to consumers and businesses.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said in an Oct. 31 interview with Bloomberg News in New York that the government may take additional steps to aid banks and private pension funds, including doubling the mortgage purchases. Canada may also ease the growing funding gaps at pension funds because of falling stock prices, Flaherty said.

Profit Declines

Harper, 49, is being forced to manage a slowdown in tax revenue that threatens to end a record streak of 11 consecutive budget surpluses for the oil-rich country.

Growth in the world's eighth-biggest economy will slow to 0.6 percent this year, the least since 1991, the Bank of Canada said in an Oct. 23 forecast. The country is suffering from weak demand in the U.S., and slumping prices for commodities, which generate about half the country's export revenue.

Canada's six main banks are expected to report an average profit decline of 15 percent for the fiscal third quarter, the biggest drop in six years, according to Dundee Securities Corp. analyst John Aiken. The banks are scheduled to begin reporting results on Nov. 25, starting with Bank of Montreal.

The meeting with bankers comes as Harper prepares for a summit of world leaders in Washington next week to discuss the financial crisis. Flaherty has said the nation's banks have largely escaped the turmoil and the country's financial system remains sound, warning that the world's largest economies shouldn't re-engineer the global financial system.

Flaherty, in a Bloomberg interview today in Trujillo, Peru said the best approach is for the largest economies to focus first on shoring up their own regulatory frameworks. Flaherty is attending a meeting of finance ministers from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

To contact the reporter on this story: Theophilos Argitis in Ottawa at targitis@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 5, 2008 16:57 EST