Bank of Canada holds key interest rate at 2.25%

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The Bank of Canada held its key interest rate at 2.25 per cent on Wednesday, saying that higher oil and gas prices from the Middle East war are likely to boost global inflation but that it’s too soon to assess the conflict’s impact on the Canadian economy.

Too soon to assess conflict’s impact on Canadian economy, says governing council

Jenna Benchetrit · CBC News · Posted: Mar 18, 2026 9:51 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

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The Bank of Canada held its key interest rate on Wednesday, saying it’s too early to assess the impact of the war in the Middle East. (CBC)

The Bank of Canada held its key interest rate at 2.25 per cent on Wednesday, saying that higher oil and gas prices from the Middle East war are likely to boost global inflation but that it’s too soon to assess the conflict’s impact on the Canadian economy.

“We continue to expect the Canadian economy to grow modestly as it adjusts to U.S. tariffs and trade policy uncertainty, but recent data suggest that near-term economic growth will be weaker than anticipated in January,” the bank’s governing council wrote in its decision.

The decision comes off the heels of an inflation report that saw the bank’s preferred core measures moderating, but also after a weak labour force survey that saw the economy lose 84,000 jobs in February.

Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem and senior deputy governor Carolyn Rogers are expected to speak during a 10:30 a.m. ET news conference, which will be carried on this page.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jenna Benchetrit is the senior business writer for CBC News. She writes stories about Canadian economic and consumer issues, and has also recently covered U.S. politics. She was part of the team that won a silver Digital Publishing Award in best news coverage for covering the 2024 U.S. election. A Montrealer based in Toronto, Jenna holds a master’s degree in journalism from Toronto Metropolitan University. You can reach her at [email protected].

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