Bank of Canada should ignore the Fed and keep talking

Published in the Financial Post. Communication is key to central banking. And key to that communication is the fine line between creating confusion by saying too much and creating unnecessary uncertainty by saying too little. Under its new Chairman, Kevin Warsh, the United States Federal Reserve is headed in the direction of minimalism. We think the Bank of Canada should […]

Bank of Canada Should Maintain Overnight Rate at 2.25 Percent for Next Six Months, Increase to 2.5 Percent by Next July, Says C.D. Howe Institute Monetary Policy Council

July 9, 2026 – The C.D. Howe Institute’s Monetary Policy Council (MPC) calls for the Bank of Canada to keep its target for the overnight rate, its benchmark policy interest rate, at 2.25 percent at its next announcement on July 15, maintain it at that level until January 2027, and raise it to 2.5 percent by July 2027. The MPC is chaired by Jeremy Kronick, the Institute’s President […]

Toolkit of Economic Indicators

  The C.D. Howe Institute’s toolkit for tracking the economy is a customized series of data sets from past Institute publications. These tools can be helpful for policymakers and other parties interested in analyzing monetary policy and financial stability decisions. These unique variables, which can all be found in past Institute work, include: The Leading […]

How to Refine the Bank of Canada’s Communication Strategy 

To: Central bank watchers From: Jeremy M. Kronick, Thorsten Koeppl and Steve Ambler  Date: July 6, 2026  Re: How to Refine the Bank of Canada’s Communication Strategy  The Bank of Canada should continue to seek improved measures of underlying or core inflation for its own internal use. However, it should reduce its reliance on these measures in communicating with the public, […]

Communicating about inflation: the Bank of Canada’s conundrum

Published in The Hill Times. The Bank of Canada should continue to seek improved measures of underlying or core inflation for its own internal use. However, it should reduce its reliance on these measures in communicating with the public, and, as we argue in a recent C.D. Howe Institute paper, focus instead on providing a fuller […]

Keeping Our Edge: The Benefits of Sound Monetary and Fiscal Policy

From: Don Drummond and Nicholas DahirTo: Fiscal and monetary policy decision-makersDate: June 29, 2026 Re: Keeping Our Edge: The Benefits of Sound Monetary and Fiscal Policy For much of the second half of the twentieth century, the United States enjoyed a borrowing-cost advantage over Canada. Today, the advantage is in Canada’s favour. That reversal should serve […]

Canada must resist the seduction of more borrowing and rising debt

Published in The Globe and Mail. For much of the second half of the 20th century, the United States enjoyed a borrowing-cost advantage over Canada. Today, the advantage is in Canada’s favour. But that reversal should serve as a warning to those who argue Canada has room for fiscal expansion given that it has a […]

Explaining the Path to 2 Percent: A New Approach to Bank of Canada Communications

June 16, 2026 – The Bank of Canada’s use of multiple measures of underlying inflation is important for properly executing monetary policy, but risks undermining public understanding of monetary policy and complicating efforts to communicate its policy stance clearly, according to a new C.D. Howe Institute report.   In “The Bank of Canada’s Communication Conundrum: How to Explain Inflation,” authors Jeremy Kronick, Steve Ambler and Thorsten Koeppl recommend that the […]

The Uncertain Times Confronted by the Bank of Canada

From: Jeremy M. Kronick and Steve Ambler  To: Interest rate watchers  Date: June 16, 2026  Re: The Uncertain Times Confronted by the Bank of Canada The Bank of Canada held its policy rate constant at 2.25 percent last week, meeting market expectations. This was despite headline inflation increasing to 2.8 percent in April, up from 2.4 percent in March, near the upper end […]

The Bank of Canada’s Communication Conundrum: How to Explain Inflation

by Jeremy Kronick, Steve Ambler and Thorsten Koeppl This E-Brief is the third in a series related to the Bank of Canada’s 2026 renewal of its inflation-targeting agreement with the federal government. We examine the desirable properties of underlying inflation measures and assess whether the measures available to the Bank meet those criteria. We find […]

The Bank of Canada was right to hold rates, but where to from here?

Published in The Globe and Mail. The Bank of Canada held its policy rate constant at 2.25 per cent on Wednesday, meeting market expectations. This was in spite of headline inflation increasing to 2.8 per cent in April, up from 2.4 per cent in March, near the upper end of the central bank’s 1 to 3 per […]

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