Expensive homes sit on a hill with a scenic view of the valley beneath them.

Canada may get some inflationary relief

Christian Lawrence told the recent Alberta Beef Industry Conference in Calgary that inflation will remain a concern in the United States, regardless of how the tariff trade war plays out.

The loonie has weakened recently due to U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s tariff threats and more aggressive interest rate cuts in Canada than those in the United States. | File photo

Crop markets follow weather, tariffs, currency fluctuations

Crop markets in early 2025 will likely be subdued as production prospects in South America appear good and the outlook for global trade is on edge, fearing U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s threats about levying harsh tariffs and a potential renewed trade war with China. In the Southern Hemisphere, Australia has mostly completed its harvest with […] Read more

Financial institutions have projected that the U.S. dollar will stay strong in the first half of 2025, but the loonie could rebound in the last two quarters of the year. | Getty Images

Loonie lags as U.S. booms

WINNIPEG — A chart of the loonie’s value in 2024 shows that something changed in early October. For the first nine months of the year, the Canadian dollar was trading between 72 and 74 cents American. On Oct. 1, the loonie was valued at 74.1 cents relative to the U.S. dollar. It then sharply declined, […] Read more


The Bank of Canada cut its benchmark overnight rate by 50 basis points on Dec. 12, taking it to 3.25 per cent. | Reuters photo

Lower interest rates are good news for farmers

Central banks reduce the cost of borrowing as inflation eases, making it easier to take out a loan and expand operations

Glacier FarmMedia – High interest rates are the hammer used by central banks to temper inflation, and many are now using the claw side of the tool to ease the higher rates of the past few years. The Bank of Canada cut its benchmark overnight rate by 50 basis points on Dec. 12, taking it […] Read more

The central bank, which hiked rates to a 20-year high to fight soaring prices, has now cut four times in a row since June. Inflation in September sank to 1.6 per cent, below the two per cent target. | Reuters photo

More interest rate cuts expected after recent reduction

OTTAWA (Reuters) — The Bank of Canada reduced its key benchmark rate by 50 basis points last week to 3.75 per cent, its first bigger-than-usual move in more than four years, and hailed signs the country has returned to an era of low inflation. The central bank, which hiked rates to a 20-year high to […] Read more


The problem with the decision, according to one analyst, is not the fact the BOC lowered interest rates but that the magnitude of the cut was not aggressive enough given current Canadian economic fundamentals. | Getty Images

Bank of Canada must cut interest rates more aggressively

The central bank was expected to announce a 25 basis point drop in the overnight rate, but cut should have been deeper

By the time you are reading this, the Bank of Canada will likely have announced a 25 basis point (0.25 per cent – editor’s note: it was .50 per cent drop, details here) drop in the overnight interest rate to four per cent. That was the economists’ prediction before the bank’s most recent meeting. The […] Read more


The Bank of Canada met this week and was expected to cut its key rate by at least 25 basis points or more. This column was written before the bank made its announcement. | Reuters photo

Central banks ponder how fast to reduce interest rates

The latest inflation and employment reports show the Canadian economy could be cooling too fast, prompting several prominent economists to encourage the Bank of Canada to aggressively cut interest rates. The bank met this week and was expected to cut its key rate by at least 25 basis points or more. This column was written […] Read more


Prices haven't dropped, but the lack of transactions is a signal that demand is softer, says the chief economist at Farm Credit Canada. | Getty Images

Farmland transaction numbers down this year

FCC says producers are worried about commodity prices, input costs and interest rates, which could hurt farmland values

UPDATED: Farmland values chart added September 12, 2024 – 1030 CST – WINNIPEG — Less farmland has been bought and sold in Canada this year. Prices haven’t dropped, but the lack of transactions is a signal that demand is softer, says the chief economist at Farm Credit Canada. FCC will release its official estimates of […] Read more

"We are increasingly confident that the ingredients to bring inflation back to target are in place," said Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem. The bank reiterated that inflation should return sustainably to its two per cent target in the second half of 2025. | Reuters photo

Bank of Canada cuts interest rates

OTTAWA (Reuters) — The Bank of Canada has trimmed its key interest rate by 25 basis points for the second month in a row, bringing it to 4.5 per cent, and said more reductions in borrowing costs were likely if inflation continued to cool in line with forecasts. The central bank had kept its policy […] Read more