Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem to make speech following rate hike

OTTAWA – Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem is set to speak at a webinar hosted by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business today.

The speech comes one day after the central bank raised its key interest rate by a full percentage point, marking the largest rate hike since 1998.

The rate hike signaled the bank was moving quicker to clamp down on soaring inflation, which reached a nearly 40-year-high of 7.7 per cent in May.

In a news conference on Wednesday, Macklem said the supersized rate hike was necessary to avoid having to take even larger steps in the future and highlighted the importance of restoring “low, stable and predictable inflation.”

However, the faster approach the Bank of Canada is taking to raise interest rates is also raising concerns about the possibility of a recession, with RBC forecasting a mild recession next year.

Macklem is speaking via videoconference. His remarks will be published online later this afternoon.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 13, 2022.