Canadians speculate Bank of Canada will increase interest rates again: poll

As the Bank of Canada said they plan to pause interest rate hikes after the latest increase, a new poll shows Canadians are speculating the central bank will push past the current level.

The Maru Public Opinion survey found those polled believe the new prime interest level will go up to an average of 4.8 per cent before meeting the goal of bringing annual inflation down to two per cent.

Inflation hit a peak 8.1 per cent in June of 2022 and most recently was recorded at 6.3 per cent a month ago.

The Bank of Canada announced their eighth interest rate hike on Wednesday of a quarter of a percentage point, bringing it to 4.5 per cent, the highest it’s been since 2007.

Officials also said if economic developments stay in line with its current projections, the central bank said it expects to hold its key interest rate at its current level.

According to its latest report, the central bank expects inflation to slow faster than it had previously anticipated and is forecasting the annual inflation rate will fall to three per cent by mid-2023 and to its target of two per cent in 2024.

The poll found the majority of Canadians, 57 per cent have are aligned with the decision to hit the pause button on the prime lending rate.

Another 32 per cent think the central bank should be reversing course and lowering interest rates. Those mostly like to want interest rates to come down are homeowners with a variable or adjustable mortgage with 42 per cent of those polled.

Twelve per cent say the bank should keep raising rates until they bring inflation down much further.

The poll was conducted on Jan. 23-24 using 3,074 randomly selected Canadian adults who are Maru Voice Canada online panellists and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.8 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

With files from the Canadian Press