OTTAWA –
The man at the helm of Canada’s central bank says the Bank of Canada plans to be clearer in the coming years when it lets the cost of living rise for the good of the economy.
Governor Tiff Macklem says the issue comes down to the trust Canadians have in the Bank of Canada to make sure the pace of price increases don’t run too high.
The Bank of Canada and federal government agreed this week to keep the central bank’s inflation target range of one to three per cent, but the bank will also now more formally keep tabs on the labour market when making interest rate decisions.
Macklem says that may mean the bank may sometimes let inflation run at the higher end of its target range if it helps bolster the job market.
But he also notes that high inflation is difficult for many Canadians because as the cost of living goes up, households have trouble stretching to pay their bills.
Earlier Wednesday, Statistics Canada reported that the annual pace of inflation held steady in November at an 18-year high as the consumer price index rose 4.7 per cent compared with a year ago.
Here’s what happened in the provinces (previous month in brackets):
- Newfoundland and Labrador: 4.2 per cent (4.5)
- Prince Edward Island: 7.0 per cent (6.6)
- Nova Scotia: 5.3 per cent (5.4)
- New Brunswick: 5.7 per cent (5.5)
- Quebec: 5.2 per cent (5.3)
- Ontario: 5.0 per cent (4.9)
- Manitoba: 4.6 per cent (4.7)
- Saskatchewan: 3.7 per cent (3.2)
- Alberta: 4.3 per cent (4.3)
- British Columbia: 3.6 per cent (3.8)
The agency also released rates for major cities, but cautioned that figures may have fluctuated widely because they are based on small statistical samples (previous month in brackets):
- St. John’s, N.L.: 3.3 per cent (3.6)
- Charlottetown-Summerside: 7.0 per cent (6.7)
- Halifax: 4.8 per cent (5.0)
- Saint John, N.B.: 5.3 per cent (5.2)
- Quebec City: 4.9 per cent (4.5)
- Montreal: 5.0 per cent (5.1)
- Ottawa: 5.5 per cent (5.5)
- Toronto: 4.3 per cent (4.0)
- Thunder Bay, Ont.: 3.8 per cent (3.6)
- Winnipeg: 4.3 per cent (4.5)
- Regina: 3.4 per cent (2.9)
- Saskatoon: 3.4 per cent (2.9)
- Edmonton: 3.9 per cent (4.1)
- Calgary: 4.4 per cent (4.3)
- Vancouver: 3.2 per cent (3.8)
- Victoria: 3.2 per cent (2.6)
- Whitehorse: 4.1 per cent (4.9)
- Yellowknife: 4.0 per cent (4.2)
- Iqaluit: 2.3 per cent (2.1)
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 15, 2021
