Flat growth and trade turmoil reinforce expectations for a long policy pause Canada’s economy looked to have stalled heading into year‑end, and that has forecasters leaning harder toward a Bank of Canada rate freeze that could stretch through 2026. Industry‑based GDP was flat in November after a 0.3% decline...
Central bank kicks off the year with a hotly anticipated announcement By Fergal McAlinden The Bank of Canada is holding its benchmark interest rate steady to begin the year, keeping that trendsetting rate unchanged as it weighs up the economic outlook for 2026. The central bank announced on Wednesday...
Prices jump ahead of next week's much anticipated central bank decision By Fergal McAlinden The annual rate of inflation ticked higher in Canada in December, rising by 2.4% compared with a year prior thanks mainly to the impact of December 2024’s temporary GST break. Statistics Canada said on Monday morning that...
Economists now see 2026 as a holding pattern – with risks tilting to hikes By Liezel Once The Bank of Canada may have just poured cold water on rising bets for an interest rate hike in 2026, economists said, even as some now warn that the next move could...
By Fergal McAlinden The Bank of Canada has left interest rates unchanged in its last decision of the year, holding the policy rate steady amid lingering uncertainty over inflation and the economic outlook. The central bank said on Wednesday morning it was keeping the benchmark rate – which leads variable...
By Matthew Sellers The federal government’s latest budget may prove too restrained to lift Canada’s slowing economy, potentially leaving the Bank of Canada with little choice but to reduce interest rates again, economists said Wednesday. The Bank of Canada lowered its policy rate to 2.25 per cent at...
Media Relations Ottawa, Ontario October 29, 2025 The Bank of Canada today reduced its target for the overnight rate by 25 basis points to 2.25%, with the Bank Rate at 2.5% and the deposit rate at 2.20%. With the effects of US trade actions on economic growth and inflation...
Media Relations Ottawa, Ontario September 17, 2025 The Bank of Canada today reduced its target for the overnight rate by 25 basis points to 2.5%, with the Bank Rate at 2.75% and the deposit rate at 2.45%. After remaining resilient to sharply higher US tariffs and ongoing uncertainty, global...
By Liezel Once Most economists now expect the Bank of Canada to cut its overnight rate by 25 basis points on September 17, with a Reuters poll showing consensus that weak job numbers and a slowing economy gave policymakers little alternative. Nearly 80% of economists surveyed by Reuters between September...
By Fergal McAlinden 08 Aug. 2025 Canada’s labour market took its biggest hit last month since the beginning of 2022, losing 40,800 jobs as trade tensions continue to cloud the economic outlook. Statistics Canada said on Friday that declines in full-time work helped spur a big – and unexpected...