News

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Canada, the Bank of Canada acted quickly. We needed to make sure the financial system worked well enough that credit could continue to flow. That meant addressing shortages of liquidity in financial markets—the backbone for lending and borrowing in the economy.

Speaking a day after the Bank left the policy rate unchanged, Deputy Governor Toni Gravelle explains how efforts to keep financial markets functioning through the COVID-19 crisis will lay a solid foundation for economic recovery.

The Bank of Canada today maintained its target for the overnight rate at the effective lower bound of ¼ percent. The Bank Rate is correspondingly ½ percent and the deposit rate is ¼ percent.

During this time of heightened public health measures intended to limit the transmission of COVID-19, some consumers and businesses are choosing not to use cash to limit potential exposure.

Here’s what determines the interest rate on your mortgage—and why that rate can go up and down.