The Bank of Canada left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at the effective lower bound of 0.25%

Policymakers noted that the Canadian economy is starting to recover amid the easing of coronavirus restrictions but added that the outlook is extremely uncertain given the unpredictability of the course of the pandemic. The Bank expects the economy’s recovery to slow as the outbreak continues to have an impact on confidence and consumer behaviour.

Policymakers projected that the real GDP will likely shrink by 7.8% in 2020 and resumes with growth of 5.1% in 2021 and 3.7% in 2022. The Committee added that is prepared to provide further monetary stimulus as needed to support the recovery and achieve the inflation objective.