Thoughts on BC Politics and More

  Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre’s leadership campaign last year was propelled by a savvy prediction that interest rates and inflation were about to dominate the Canadian political discourse.   As leader, Poilievre has doubled down on the issue, bemoaning the price of consumer goods and relentlessly criticizing Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem.   That impulse has now gone mainstream, with even progressive politicians grumbling about the Bank’s recent rate hikes and decrying the effect on Canadian family budgets ... CLICK HERE for the full story

Weaker-than-expected GDP data last week likely sealed the deal for a rate hold tomorrow by the Bank of Canada. But not all economists are convinced that this marks the end of the current rate-hike cycle. Statistics Canada reported on Friday that second-quarter economic growth contracted by 0.2% compared to Q1, well down from the Bank of Canada’s 1.5% forecast for the quarter. The surprising slowdown in economic growth, together with rising unemployment and easing inflation, firmed up the consensus expectation for a rate hold at tomorrow’s monetary policy meeting. It also led to some suggesting we’re now reached the end of the current rate-hike cycle. “The broad softening in the domestic economy will almost certainly move the BoC to the sidelines at next week’s rate decision after back-to-back hikes,” wrote BMO chief economist Douglas Porter. “Between the half-point rise in the unemployment rate, the marked slowing in GDP, and some cooling in core inflation, it now looks like ra...