The Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) predicts Canada’s economy will remain weaker for the rest of 2024, with higher interest rates continuing to put a damper on economic growth.
Despite recent rate cuts by the Bank of Canada, which reduced its key interest rate from 5 percent to 4.25 percent from June to September, the PBO said the elevated rates “will continue putting downward pressure on consumer spending and investment.”
Canada’s economy grew more than the PBO had anticipated in the first half of 2024, with real gross domestic product (GDP) growing at 1.9 percent due to higher household and government consumption. The PBO predicts the country’s real GDP growth will be at 1.1 percent as 2024 draws to a close….