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Exclusive Insights From a Former Bank of Canada Governor

It’s not everyday you get to sit on a video call with someone who used to run our country’s central bank. So when I was invited to be a part of a remote session with former BoC Governor Stephen Poloz, I made sure to take down as much as I could to share with you. Here’s what he thinks about inflation, interest rates, and what’s happening in Canada.

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Home Prices Heat Up Despite High Interest Rates

Some weird stuff is happening in the world of real estate. As you likely know, the Bank of Canada has steadily raised interest rates over the past year in hopes of cooling inflation. This was also supposed to cool the housing market. Conventional wisdom dictates that higher rates would result in more mortgage defaults, more housing supply, and lower home prices. Oddly enough, none of that is happening. 

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Free Money Will Cost Canadians

There’s one reason and one reason only that rates have skyrocketed by 4.25% in less than 10 months: inflation. The Bank of Canada has made it their mandate to bring inflation down to 2% – a far cry from the peak at 5.9%. Their plan is to jack up rates so that people will have less disposable income. The idea is that less disposable income will lead to less personal spending. Less personal spending will lead to lower demand for goods. Lower demand for goods will eventually lead to lower prices on those goods. 

Essentially, for this plan to work, Canadians need to spend less money. It’s as simple as that. So why in the world does the Prime Minister keep giving Canadians more money to spend?

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Is This the End of Rate Hikes?

The last few months have been tough to say the least. Variable rates are at their highest levels in 20 years. The prime rate has gone up 4.25% in less than 12 months. Every Bank of Canada announcement feels like it could be another 50 point jump. If you’re a homeowner, it’s seemingly never ending. The news certainly doesn’t help you feel otherwise. But if you take a look at what’s happened in the past, you’ll see that the time we’re in isn’t so unprecedented. We’ve been here before and we’ve gotten out of it – and I believe we’re doing it all over again.

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What the New Foreign Buyers Ban Means For You

Now that the dust has settled from the holidays and we’re back into the swing of things, we’re reminded that January 1st, 2023 wasn’t just the first day of the new year; it was also the first day of Canada’s new foreign buyers ban. The ban was passed through parliament last summer and is now officially in place prompting many Canadians to ask, “what does this mean for me?” Unfortunately, the answer isn’t so simple. 

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