Chrystia Freeland Resigns On The Day of The Fall Economic Statement   Finance Minister Freeland rocked markets today by submitting her resignation from Cabinet. Trudeau had asked her to take another Cabinet post, but she declined in a scathing letter accusing Trudeau of “costly political gimmicks” like “bribe-us-with-our-own-money cheques for $250 and a two-month GST […]

Bank of Canada Cuts Policy Rate By 50 BPs After three consecutive 25 bp rate cuts, the BoC slashed the overnight rate by 50 bps this morning, bringing the policy rate down to 3.75%. The market had priced in 90% odds of a 50 bp move, where consensus coalesced. The combined slower-than-expected GDP growth and back-to-back weak inflation […]

More Good News On The Canadian Inflation Front   The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.0% year over year in August, the slowest pace since February 2021, and down from a 2.5% gain in July 2024. Core inflation measures averaged 2.35% y/y and excluding mortgage interest, headline inflation was a mere 1.2%–well below the Bank’s target inflation level of […]

Bank of Canada Cuts Rates Another Quarter Point Today, the Bank of Canada cut the overnight policy rate by another 25 basis points to 4.25%. This is the third consecutive decrease since June. The Bank’s decision reflects two main developments. First, headline and core inflation have continued to ease as expected. Second, as inflation gets […]

Early Signs Of Renewed Life In June Housing Markets The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) announced today that national home sales rose 3.7% between May and June following the Bank of Canada’s rate cut. While activity was still muted, it wasn’t nearly as weak as the media recently portrayed. “It wasn’t a ‘blow the doors […]

Weaker-Than-Expected June Jobs Report Keeps BoC Rate Cuts In Play Canadian employment data, released today by Statistics Canada, showed a marked slowdown, which historically would have been a harbinger of recession. This cycle, immigration has augmented the growth of the labour force and consumer spending, forestalling a significant economic downturn. Nevertheless, the Bank of Canada […]

Canadian Inflation Rose In May, Surprising Markets Inflation unexpectedly rose in May, disappointing the Bank of Canada as it deliberates the possibility of another rate cut next month. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.9% in May from a year ago, up from a 2.7% reading in April. This increase primarily reflects higher prices for […]

May Was Another Sleepy Month For Housing The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) announced today that national home sales fell 0.6% in May, remaining slightly below the average of the past ten years. Actual (not seasonally adjusted) monthly activity was 5.9% below May 2023. With the Bank of Canada rate cut on June 5, housing activity […]

A Collective Sigh of Relief As The BoC Cut Rates For the First Time in 27 Months Today, the Bank of Canada boosted consumer and business confidence by cutting the overnight rate by 25 bps to 4.75% and pledged to continue reducing the size of its balance sheet. The news came on the heels of […]