remain calm, arguing that the price gains are temporary. Participating in a question-and-answer session, ahead of his address to the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, he claimed that the BoC is working to tackle the matter, although it’s going to take some time. “I do want Canadians to be confident that we certainly understand that our job is to make sure that one-off price increases don’t become ongoing inflation,” Macklem noted.
The central bank’s current mandate targets an inflation of 2 per cent, with a control range of 1 to 3 per cent. The BoC Governor is of the view that the inflation rate would continue to exceed the top end target “at least” until the end of the year.
However, with the apex bank’s negotiations with Ottawa on monetary policy framework, looming around the corner, a new poll has found that many Canadians do not want to give the BoC the flexibility to raise its inflation target above 2 per cent.
According to a survey conducted by Nanos Research Group for Bloomberg News, almost 56 per cent of the participants are uncomfortable with adjusting the bank’s mandate, while only a third say they are comfortable with the idea. This is in line with another study that was published by the Bank of Canada earlier this year, which showed that most Canadians favoured the current 2 per cent inflation-target over alternatives.
Nanos Research’s survey was conducted with the participation of more than 1,000 people from between 30 September and 3 October.
