Timothy Lane: Economic progress report - charting our own course

Remarks by Mr Timothy Lane, Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada, at the Ottawa Board of Trade, Ottawa, Ontario, 5 December 2019.

The views expressed in this speech are those of the speaker and not the view of the BIS.

Introduction

Good morning. It is a pleasure to be here to share my thoughts about the Canadian economy and discuss the decision we announced yesterday to hold interest rates steady. I'd like to thank the Ottawa Board of Trade for the invitation.

It is news to no one that we are living in unsettled times. The world economy continues to be buffeted by trade conflict, and relations between the United States and China are on a roller coaster.

This enduring uncertainty has already done some damage. Global growth has suffered. Because Canada is an open economy dependent on trade, our economy has suffered as well. Commodity prices, which affect a big part of our economy, have weakened over most of the year. Business investment has been weighed down, and our exports have suffered because of softer global demand.