Rising interest rates worry 7 in 10 Canadians — and another hike could be coming
A growing number of Canadians are worried that interest rates are rising faster than they keep up, new polling suggests, just as many economists expect the Bank of Canada will deliver another rate hike this week.
Polling from Ipsos Public Affairs conducted exclusively for Global News between June 19 and 20 shows a growing number of Canadians are concerned they won’t be able to pay off debts like credit card bills amid higher interest rates and inflation that continues to cause pain, particularly at the grocery store.
More than four in five Canadians (81 per cent) say they’re worried inflation will continue to make life unaffordable, according to the Ipsos survey.
Some 71 per cent of Canadians are worried that interest rates will rise faster than they can adjust, according to the polling. That’s slightly higher than results in April, when the Bank of Canada held rates steady for the second time this year as it waited to see whether its previous hikes would do enough to slow the economy and bring inflation down its two per cent target.
But the central bank ended that brief pause in June with a 25-basis-point rate increase that surprised most economists.
The bank’s next rate decision is set for Wednesday. Many economists — including all six big Canadian banks — are expecting policymakers will not be satisfied with a single hike in June and will bring the policy rate up to 5.0 per cent as core inflation remains sticky and the economy shows signs of resilience.
That will be the highest point for the Bank of Canada’s benchmark interest rate since 2001, says Rubina Ahmed-Haq, personal finance expert and host ofFor What It’s Worth on the Corus Entertainment radio network. Corus Entertainment is the parent company of Global News.
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