On Wednesday, December 10th, at its regular policy meeting, the Bank of Canada (BoC) maintained its target for the overnight rate at 2.25 per cent. This is the first pause after 2 rate drops this fall, and with most banks and mortgage lenders, leaves the consumer prime rates at 4.45 per cent (4.6 per cent with TD Canada Trust). Why… Read More »
Canadian Economy Avoids Recession Based on Third Quarter GDP Results
Statistics Canada published a report on Friday, November 28th detailing the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) results for the third quarter (July, August, September) and the *good* news is that Canada narrowly avoided a “technical” recession (which economists define as two consecutive quarters of shrinking GDP). In the third quarter, Canada’s GDP grew at a rate of 2.6 per cent (annualized),… Read More »
October Jobs Numbers Show Surprising Strength
In a surprise turn of events, the October Labour Force Survey out today showed that Canada’s employment increased by 67,000 jobs, putting the unemployment rate back to 6.9 per cent. The unemployment increased to 7.1 per cent for August and stayed there in September. The majority of the jobs were in Ontario, which increased by 55,000, and Newfoundland and Labrador,… Read More »
Rate Update and Analysis – October 2025
On Wednesday, October 29th, at its regular policy meeting, the Bank of Canada (BoC) reduced its target for the overnight rate to 2.25 per cent. This is the second rate drop in a row after three straight pauses in rate policy over the spring/summer. With most banks and mortgage lenders, this will mean consumer prime rates will be reduced to… Read More »
New OSFI Rental Mortgage Guidelines coming in 2026 will likely make rental property mortgages a bit more expensive
Last week, a representative from OSFI (the Canadian bank regulator) made some comments about incoming rules for rental property mortgages that caused a bunch of confusion, as they seemed to imply that it would suddenly become MUCH more difficult for regular individuals and small scale landlords to qualify for residential rental property mortgages. However, today they announced some clarification and… Read More »
Rate Update and Analysis – September 2025
On Wednesday, September 17th, at its regular policy meeting, the Bank of Canada (BoC) reduced its target for the overnight rate to 2.5 per cent. This is the first rate drop after three straight pauses in rate policy. With most banks and mortgage lenders, this will mean consumer prime rates will be reduced to 4.70 per cent (4.85 per cent… Read More »
Rate Update and Analysis – July 2025
On Wednesday, July 30th, at its regular policy meeting, the Bank of Canada (BoC) held its target for the overnight rate at 2.75 per cent. This is the third straight pause in rate policy after seven consecutive rate drops. With most banks and mortgage lenders, this will mean consumer prime rates will continue at 4.95 per cent (5.10 per cent… Read More »
Rate Update and Analysis – June 2025
On Wednesday, June 4th, at its regular policy meeting, the Bank of Canada (BoC) held its target for the overnight rate at 2.75 per cent. This is the second pause in rate policy after seven consecutive rate drops. With most banks and mortgage lenders, this will mean consumer prime rates will continue at 4.95 per cent (5.10 per cent with… Read More »
Rate Update and Analysis – April 2025
On Wednesday, April 16th, at its regular policy meeting, the Bank of Canada (BoC) held its target for the overnight rate at 2.75 per cent. This is the first pause in rate policy following seven consecutive rate drops. With most banks and mortgage lenders, this will mean consumer prime rates will continue at 4.95 per cent (5.10 per cent with… Read More »
Rate Update and Analysis – March 2025
On Wednesday, March 12th, at its regular policy meeting, the Bank of Canada (BoC) reduced its target for the overnight rate by 0.25 per cent, down to 2.75 per cent. This is the seventh rate drop in a row from the BoC (all happening since June) and will cause banks and mortgage lenders to cut their consumer prime rates for… Read More »