The Bank of Canada held its benchmark interest rate steady at 2.25% for the seventh consecutive time. ^[1] The Bank of Canada held its overnight interbank rate at 2.25% during its seventh consecutive policy meeting on Wednesday. ^[2] The Bank of Canada maintained its benchmark interest rate at 2.25% on Wednesday, a level that has remained unchanged since October 2025. ^[3] The Bank of Canada kept its key policy rate on hold at 2.25% as widely expected. ^[4] The Canadian dollar traded 0.4% higher at 1.3840 per U.S. dollar on Wednesday, recovering from a low of 1.3939. ^[5] New U.S. tariffs on around $28-billion worth of Canadian goods will weigh on exports, jobs, and investment in Canada. ^[6] Annual inflation rose to 3% for the first time since 2023, driven by rising energy costs from the Middle East conflict. ^[7] Governor Tiff Macklem led the decision to keep borrowing costs stable while assessing the uncertainty caused by escalating tariff disputes between Canada and the United States. ^[8] The Trump administration imposed 50% tariffs on hundreds of Canadian products. ^[9] Governor Tiff Macklem stated that new tariffs imposed by Washington on Canadian exports and retaliatory taxes announced by Ottawa have increased uncertainty about the continuity of the country's economic recovery. ^[10] Inflation remains around 3%, fundamentally due to high gasoline prices derived from the conflict in the Middle East, while underlying inflation indicators remained near the 2% target. ^[11] Tiff Macklem affirmed that products affected by the new tariffs represent approximately 5% of Canadian exports to the United States, meaning a major direct impact on overall economic activity is not expected. ^[12]