OTTAWA (LifeSiteNews) – Many Canadians will soon be hit with higher mortgage costs after Canada’s central bank hiked its key lending interest rate to 5 percent on Wednesday, the highest it has been since 2001 in what is in reality a response to massive federal government spending.
According to the Bank of Canada (BoC), inflation is above its target rate of 3 percent, which prompted the increase. This is the 10th increase in 16 months and will hit Canadian families hard in the pocketbook.
The federal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tried to downplay the hike in interest rates on Wednesday, claiming that some of its recent rebate programs will help offset higher mortgage costs.
The reality is these programs, a recent increase in a GST rebate and its Climate Action rebate, are only a few hundred dollars for individuals and families once every four months.
The rate hike was immediately blasted by Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre.
“Trudeau’s policies force another rate hike. After Trudeau told Canadians debt was harmless, families are hit with another interest rate uppercut,” he tweeted Wednesday.
“Trudeau’s taxes & deficits have driven up inflation & interest rates. I will reverse Trudeau’s inflationary deficits & taxes to bring home lower rates.”
Earlier this year, the head of the BoC painted a grim picture for 2023, warning Canadians the coming economic turmoil will not “feel good.”
On Wednesday, the BoC did not say whether it would pause rates come its next announcement on rates in the fall.
Leader of the People’s Party of Canada (PPC) Maxime Bernier said that the most “effective way to address inflationary pressures would be to cut government spending and the number of immigrants arriving in Canada.”
“Instead, it’s families with mortgages that will bear the brunt of Trudeau’s disastrous policies,” he tweeted Wednesday.
The United States’ federal bank interest rate is around 5.25 percent, which is very similar to Canada’s. The United Kingdom’s interest rate is also 5 percent.
While most economists agree that raising interest rates is an effective method of combating inflation, the process also increases the financial burden of the population, most notably among homeowners with mortgages.
While inflation has hit on a global scale, the Liberal government in Canada under Trudeau doled out large amounts of borrowed money to fund both its COVID and ideologically driven programs, which have increased the country’s debt to over $1 trillion.
In fact, the nation’s debt level has nearly doubled to approximately $1.2 trillion in a span of less than two years, from around $685 billion in 2019.
Critics have long characterized the Trudeau government’s spending as “reckless” and have blamed it for the current inflationary crisis.
Earlier this year, the BoC admitted that Trudeau’s federal “climate change” programs, which have been deemed “extreme” by some provincial leaders, are indeed helping to fuel inflation.
The raising of fuel-related taxes has come in conjunction with the Trudeau government’s decision to join a variety of global initiatives, including the United Nations’ “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” which involves phasing out or reducing the use of coal-fired power plants, nitrogen-rich fertilizers, and natural gas.
The carbon tax has only served to fuel inflation for everyday goods transported by truck.