BoC Press Conference: Interest rate announcement & release of the Monetary Policy Report

German Chancellor Merz: Basis For Ratification Of EU-US Trade Agreement Is In Place, But US Must Honour Its Commitments - We Are Not Prepared To Accept A Deterioration Of Trade Deal

Good morning. I’m pleased to be here with Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers to discuss today’s monetary policy decision. Today, Governing Council maintained the policy interest rate at 2.25%. Our forecast for economic growth and inflation in Canada has not changed significantly since our October projection. As the Canadian economy continues to adjust to US trade restrictions, we expect GDP to grow modestly and inflation to stay close to the 2% target. However, uncertainty around our forecast is heightened, and the range of possible outcomes is wider than usual. US trade policy remains unpredictable, and geopolitical risks are elevated. Our monetary policy decisions are focused on keeping inflation close to the 2% target while helping the economy through this period of structural change. Governing Council judges the current policy rate remains appropriate, conditional on the economy evolving broadly in line with the outlook we published today. With heightened uncertainty, we are monitoring risks closely. If the outlook changes, we are prepared to respond. Let me expand on what we’ve seen in the economy since we published our October Monetary Policy Report, and what we see ahead. BANK OF CANADA GOVERNOR TIFF MACKLEM SAYS ELEVATED UNCERTAINTY MAKES IT HARD TO PREDICT TIMING OR DIRECTION OF NEXT RATE CHANGE MACKLEM: TOO EARLY TO TELL HOW WELL CANADIAN ECONOMY WILL ADJUST TO TARIFFS AND ONGOING UNCERTAINTY MACKLEM SAYS UNCERTAINTY AROUND THIS OUTLOOK IS UNUSUALLY HIGH; RANGE OF POSSIBLE OUTCOMES IS WIDER THAN USUAL

BANK OF CANADA'S MACKLEM TO REPORTERS: WHETHER YOU ARE HIT WITH TARIFFS OR NOT, OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH US HAS FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGED #Canada #tariffs #Macklem BoC's Gov. Macklem: Canadian businesses' adjustment to US tariffs will last at least through end-2027. MACKLEM SAYS A LOSS OF FED INDEPENDENCE 'WOULD AFFECT US ALL' BOC'S MACKLEM: POWELL IS DOING A GOOD JOB AT FED BOC'S MACKLEM: I HOPE THE FED RETAINS ITS INDEPENDENCE