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A highly credible monetary policy helps to reduce the degree of uncertainty that can surround the objectives of such policy. When the monetary policy pursued by the central bank is credible, the expectations of the public are focused on a target. If the public believes that the Bank will act to bring inflation back to the target, then its expectations will not react so strongly to fluctuating price trends. In turn, fluctuations in inflation, interest rates, output, and employment should be less pronounced than in the absence of such credibility. The adoption of inflation control as a monetary policy objective by some countries has led central banks to take steps to enhance the credibility of monetary policy. For the Bank of Canada, these include * the publication of our Monetary Policy Report each May and November, with formal updates each February and August * the initiation of communications activities across the country * the use of the overnight interest rate as a short-term operating target * the issuing of a press release each time the Bank changes its key rates To date, most of the studies on this topic have concluded that success in keeping inflation within a target range has helped to increase the credibility of Canadian monetary policy. These surveys suggest that expected inflation, which stood at about 5 per cent in 1990, declined to around 2 per cent by 1999 (Chart 1, page 15). Indeed, according to these surveys, for the entire period during which the Bank has had a target range for inflation, expected inflation rates have remained within that range. Inflation expectations have also reacted very little to changes in the total CPI, suggesting that the targets have helped to focus expectations on the target rate and have thus enhanced the credibility of monetary policy (Chart 2, page 16). One particular study shows that the life of collective wage agreements in Canada has been increasing and that the number of such agreements containing cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) clauses has steadily declined. The authors of this study suggest that this may reflect the greater credibility of Canadian monetary policy (Table 1, page 16). The proportion of mortgages with five-year terms is now higher than it was in the mid-1980s, and many financial institutions have been offering 7- to 10-year mortgages. This also suggests that inflation targets have gained credibility.

The global economy has shown greater strength than was anticipated at the time of the November Report.

This morning we released our latest Monetary Policy Report. The outlook that we see for Canadian economic growth and inflation is very positive. The economy has outperformed expectations since our November Report and the underlying trend of inflation has been lower than expected. With the global economy gaining momentum and greater demand at home, we […]

The Bank of Canada today released its eleventh Monetary Policy Report in which it discusses economic and financial trends in the context of Canada's inflation-control strategy. The Monetary Policy Report is published every May and November.

The Bank of Canada announced today that, effective May 12, it will stop issuing $1000 bank notes and will begin to withdraw them from circulation. The announcement follows the federal government's approval of an amendment to the Bank of Canada Notes Regulations to eliminate the $1000 note as part of the fight against money laundering […]

Bank of Canada Governor Gordon Thiessen has officially informed the Bank’s Board of Directors and staff that he will retire at the end of his term, effective 31 January 2001.

Governor Gordon Thiessen today talked about the steps that Canada should take to preserve the current economic expansion and improve performance over the long run, in particular by reaping some of the potential gains from the technological revolution that is now sweeping the world.

The 1990s was a difficult period for Canada and the Canadian economy. From the beginning of the decade, it was clear that we had to grapple with the problems that had been hampering our economic performance through most of the 1970s and 1980s.

When I appeared before you last April, there was still a high degree of uncertainty in the global economy related to the 1997-98 financial crisis in emerging markets and the associated fall in world commodity prices.

The Bank of Canada raised its Bank Rate today by ¼ of one percentage point to 5½ per cent. The operating band for the overnight rate was correspondingly increased, and the Bank’s target for the overnight rate is now 5¼ per cent.