The Bank of Canada has warned that “the threat of trade tariffs” by Donald Trump’s administration in the US means the projections in its January monetary policy report are “subject to more-than-usual uncertainty”.
The central bank cited the “rapidly evolving policy landscape”, and in particular “the threat of trade tariffs” by its largest trade partner, as reasons for its uncertainty in mapping Canada’s economic outlook.
The bank mentioned tariffs six times in its Wednesday press release, contrasting its December statement, when the word was only used once.
Although the BoC predicted in its Wednesday statement that “the economy is expected to strengthen gradually and inflation to stay close to target”, it warned that “if broad-based and significant tariffs were imposed, the resilience of Canada’s economy would be tested”.
