Category: Bank of Canada

2 More Years to Bring Down Inflation, Says Bank of Canada Deputy Governor

It will take about two years to bring inflation and interest rates back to pre-pandemic levels, a Bank of Canada deputy governor says. Paul Beaudry made the comments while speaking to University of Waterloo students in a lecture on the topic “Pandemic macroeconomics: What we’ve learned, and what may lie ahead,” on Sept. 20. “Inflation has…


Economic Stimulus Should Have Stopped Earlier to Tame Inflation, Bank of Canada Says

Bank of Canada deputy governor Paul Beaudry said in hindsight, governments and central banks should have withdrawn stimulus measures earlier as economies recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, which likely would have kept a lid on inflation. In a speech at the University of Waterloo on Sept. 20, Beaudry said a faster global withdrawal of fiscal…


Canada’s Inflation Rate Cools in August but Grocery Prices Continue to Climb

Canada’s annual inflation rate slowed to 7.0 percent in August largely driven by the price of gasoline falling, but the cost of groceries continues to climb. In its latest monthly consumer price index (CPI) report, Statistics Canada said grocery prices rose at the fastest rate since 1981, with prices up 10.8 percent compared with a…


Interest Rate Hikes Add to ‘Perfect Storm’ for Small Business

News Analysis Small businesses are acutely affected by the Bank of Canada’s rapid interest rate increases, as they are carrying more debt than usual due to the pandemic in addition to numerous other challenges they face.  “It’s like a perfect storm right now in so many ways,” Catherine Swift, president of the Coalition of Concerned…


Bank of Canada Ups Key Rate to 3.25 Percent With More Hikes to Come

News Analysis OTTAWA—As widely expected, the Bank of Canada raised its key rate by 75 basis points (0.75 percent) to 3.25 percent on Sept. 7 to continue dampening demand to fight inflation. Additionally, it signalled that more rate hikes are coming, which is leading some economists to forecast an impending recession and not the “soft…


More Hikes to Come After Bank of Canada Raises Rate by 0.75 Percent

News Analysis OTTAWA—As widely expected, the Bank of Canada raised its key rate by 75 basis points (0.75 percent) to 3.25 percent on Sept. 7 to continue dampening demand to fight inflation. Additionally, it signalled that more rate hikes are coming, which is leading some economists to forecast an impending recession and not the “soft…


Bank of Canada Ups Key Rate to 3.25 Percent and Into Restrictive Territory

OTTAWA—As widely expected, the Bank of Canada raised its key rate by 75 basis points (0.75 percent) to 3.25 percent on Sept. 7 to keep dampening demand to reduce inflation. This is the highest the central bank’s policy rate has been since April 2008 when it was 3.5 percent, just prior to the onset of…


Powell’s Warning at Jackson Hole Will Drive Bank of Canada’s Course, Says Economist

News Analysis U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell spoke bluntly at a highly anticipated annual conference to dispel the assumption that because elevated inflation may have peaked, the Fed could soon pivot from continuing to aggressively hike interest rates. Canada is in the same boat as the United States, and Powell’s words served as a…


Canadians Avoiding Major Purchases Amid Rising Inflation: Survey

Runaway inflation and lack of trust in the Bank of Canada mean a majority of Canadians are reluctant to make major purchases, a new Angus Reid Institute poll finds. June’s inflation rate was at 8 percent—the highest since January 1983. The online survey of 1,606  adults, conducted between July 18 and 20, found that 75…


Bank of Canada Not Expecting a Recession as It Gets Much Tougher on Inflation

News Analysis OTTAWA—The Bank of Canada is trying to remove excess demand from the economy, and contrary to what some economists believe, it says it can achieve the “soft landing” of getting inflation back to its 2 percent target while avoiding an economic recession. Canada’s central bank upped its trendsetting interest rate by 100 basis…