The Bank of Canada leaves benchmark rate at 5.00%

January 25, 2024

This Guest Blog Brought To You By: Maryann Chase, TMG Mortgage Group

As expected, the Bank of Canada has left its key lending rate unchanged at 5.00%.

This follows 10 previous rate increases over 12 rate announcements, which raised the overnight target rate by 475 bps since March 2022.

In its statement, the Bank said it is “still concerned about risks to the outlook for inflation, particularly the persistence in underlying inflation.”

However, the Bank added that with expected GDP growth of just 0.8% in 2024, it expects inflation to continue to ease from around 3% in the first half of 2024 to its 2% target in 2025.

What happens now?

As a result of today’s decision, prime rate will remain unchanged at 7.20% and there will be no changes to existing variable-rate mortgages. This announcement also has no impact on fixed-rate mortgage holders.

The Bank’s next announcement will take place March 6.

If you have any questions or concerns about the rise in borrowing costs over the past year, I encourage you to reach out so we can discuss your personal situation and options.

Read the Bank of Canada’s full statement here.

Read the bank’s latest Monetary Policy report here.

I look forward to continuing this journey together. Feel free to contact me at any time if you’d like to review your current situation or what a new opportunity may look like, so that I can help you navigate the evolving landscape.

Maryann Chase
(306) 220-6906
maryann.chase@mortgagegroup.com