Doug Ford 'takes cues from Donald Trump' in criticizing the Bank of Canada

Ontario Premier Doug Ford adopted a Donald Trump-like stance by publicly criticizing the Bank of Canada after it decided to keep its key interest rate unchanged on Wednesday. That, at least, is the opinion of senator and economist Clément Gignac.

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"He is taking a bit of inspiration from Mr. Trump with this somewhat muscular intervention," Mr. Gignac declared in an interview on LCN on Wednesday at lunchtime.

While he understands the frustration expressed by Doug Ford, Mr. Gignac points out that the Bank of Canada reduced its key rate much more quickly than the American Federal Reserve.

"The Bank of Canada is very pragmatic, having lowered rates by 225 basis points in almost a year," he said. "In the United States, rates are not at 2.75% like in Canada. They are above 4%. However, the Bank of Canada has lowered its rates more quickly than in the United States, and core inflation is around 3%. So, we cannot say that our monetary policy is restrictive. Our monetary policy is roughly neutral."

According to Mr. Gignac, it is essential that the Bank of Canada remain "independent" of political power in order to preserve the clarity and stability of its mission.

"The Bank of Canada has to look at the medium and long term, but there are all sorts of scenarios as well," he continues. "There could indeed be tariffs that increase on August 1. Will that affect all of our exports, or just those outside the [Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement]? I think so."

Watch Clément Gignac's full speech in the video above.