Tuesday October 28, 2025 | NATIONAL – reporting from VICTORIA, BC
Preview analysis by Mary P Brooke, Editor | Island Social Trends
On Wednesday October 29, tomorrow, the Bank of Canada will deliver their scheduled interest rate announcement.
It’s the second-last of eight policy interest rate announcements for 2025.
- Wednesday, January 29
- Wednesday, March 12
- Wednesday, April 16
- Wednesday, June 4
- Wednesday, July 30
- Wednesday, September 17
- Wednesday, October 29
- Wednesday, December 10
The timing of this particular rate announcement will require consideration of some recently new scenarios, including that the rate of inflation was higher than expected in September, and that the disruption to jobs and various economic sectors is beginning to materialize due to the ongoing trade war that the United States has inflicted on Canada.
This is far more complex than many of the previous rate decisions. When chaos abounds, sometimes it’s best to keep an eye on the prize but take no action until things settle down.
This scenario differs somewhat from the April 16, June 4 and July 30 decisions when no interest rate change was made; for those decisions the Bank would have had the opportunity to be more certain about the ‘uncertainty’.
Now the swirling factors of politics (domestic, bilateral with the US, and more broadly) might need a wait-and-see stance.
One blunt tool:
The central bank has only one blunt tool — the adjustment of interest rates. Factors usually taken into consideration include unemployment levels, the current rate (and trend) of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), and the rate of inflation.
Since the pandemic (2020 and 2021) there has been an increasing tendency for the Bank to go deeper into considering data about household and consumer impacts, small business performance, and productivity.
Link for October 29:
Click here for the October 29, 2025 Bank of Canada rate announcement news release and webcast.
Interest rate dates in 2026:
Bank of Canada interest rate announcement dates for 2026 will be January 28, March 18, April 29, June 10, July 15, September 2, October 28, and December 9.
===== RELATED:
- Bank of Canada interest rate drop to 2.5% on Sept 17 (September 17, 2025)
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