OTTAWA (LifeSiteNews) — After again raising interest rates in response to high inflation spurred by massive federal government spending, the head of the Bank of Canada painted a grim picture for 2023, warning Canadians the coming economic turmoil will not “feel good.”
After hiking interest rates for the eighth time in a row on Wednesday, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem told reporters that the economy is “slowing” and will continue “to slow,” warning that growth rates for the rest of the year will be “pretty close to zero.”
Elaborating, Macklem said that nation’s economy has effectively “stalled,” and that this lack of growth “is not going to feel good” for already struggling Canadians.
Decades-high inflation over the past 18 months has led the Bank of Canada to hike interest rates to the highest level since 1991 – the current rate is now 4.5 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, in Canada, the Liberal government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau doled out large amounts of borrowed money to fund both its COVID programs and ideologically driven programs, which have increased Canada’s debt to over $1 trillion.
In fact, the nation’s debt level has nearly doubled to approximately $1.2 trillion in the 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.
Conservative leader calls for Bank of Canada head to be fired
As for rising interest rates, Macklem said that they are “working,” and hinted further rate increases might be paused.
However, Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) leader Pierre Poilievre blasted rising interest rates for the impact it is having on Canadian, likening it to a “sucker punch” to those who trusted the Trudeau government when it “promised rates would stay low for long.”
Poilievre has called for Macklem to be fired in the past, and on Wednesday said he “of course” still holds this view.
Beyond eye-watering inflation and a potential recession, under Trudeau taxes have gone up as well, further burdening the average consumer.
Food inflation in particular is so bad that the Department of Social Development warned it might increase the nation’s poverty rate significantly.
Last November, Conservative MP Matt Jeneroux warned that Canadian families “are in their darkest hours,” and just recently, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation blasted Trudeau’s Liberals for implementing no less than five tax hikes in 2023, a year where citizens are already struggling to make ends meet.