Bank of Canada Rate Decision December 2026
December 9 @ 9:45 am - 10:45 am
Bank of Canada Rate Decision December 2026
Next Bank of Canada Rate Decision: Wednesday, at 9:45 am ET (2:45 pm London).
- Consensus
- Not yet published
- Prior
- Held at 2.25%
- Actual
- Pending
Full schedule and background: Bank of Canada Rate Decision.
Updated
The Bank of Canada’s Governing Council announces its December policy interest rate decision on December 9, 2026 at 9:45 am ET (2:45 pm London time). The rate has been held at 2.25% through every scheduled decision since October 2025, when policymakers last cut borrowing costs by 25 basis points (a basis point is one hundredth of one percentage point). This is the final rate announcement of 2026, and it is not accompanied by a quarterly Monetary Policy Report, which is instead published alongside the January, April, July and October decisions. Full schedule and background: Bank of Canada rate decisions.
What is the Bank of Canada’s Governing Council and what does it decide?
The Governing Council is the Bank of Canada’s senior decision-making body. It sets the target for the overnight rate, the interest rate at which major financial institutions lend to one another overnight, which in turn shapes the Bank’s Rate (currently 2.5%) and the deposit rate (currently 2.20%). Changes in the overnight rate feed through to the prime rates set by Canada’s big banks, which affect variable-rate mortgages, home equity lines of credit and business loans across the country.
The Council is chaired by the Governor, Tiff Macklem, and includes the Senior Deputy Governor and several Deputy Governors. Unlike the US Federal Reserve or the Bank of England, the Bank of Canada does not publish individual votes; decisions are presented as a collective judgement of the Governing Council reached by consensus rather than a recorded ballot.
The Bank’s mandate, agreed with the Government of Canada, is to keep inflation at the 2% target within a control range of 1% to 3%, while supporting maximum sustainable employment. It normally meets eight times a year, roughly every six weeks, to review this mandate against incoming economic data.
When is the December Bank of Canada decision announced?
The decision is released in a written statement at 9:45 am ET (2:45 pm London time) on December 9, 2026. Because this is not one of the four Monetary Policy Report meetings, there is no accompanying set of new growth and inflation projections and no scheduled press conference in the way there is for January, April, July and October decisions; the Bank instead publishes a shorter statement explaining its reasoning. The summary of deliberations, the closest Canadian equivalent to meeting minutes, is normally released roughly two weeks after each decision.
What to expect
According to reporting from Canadian Mortgage Trends, the Bank of Canada held its policy rate at 2.25% at every one of its scheduled decisions through July 2026, having last moved rates in October 2025 with a 25 basis point cut. Coverage from Immigration News Canada in late July 2026 noted a “growing consensus among economists that the Bank’s next move will be a hike rather than a cut”, with the overnight rate sitting at the bottom of the Bank’s estimated 2.25% to 3.25% neutral range. The September 2 and October 28, 2026 decisions fall between that reporting and this December meeting; for the most recently confirmed outcome ahead of December, see the October 2026 Bank of Canada decision page. A consensus forecast specific to the December 9, 2026 meeting has not yet been published by major polling desks this far in advance.
| Meeting | Decision | Rate after meeting |
|---|---|---|
| October 2025 | Cut, 25bp | 2.25% |
| December 2025 | Hold | 2.25% |
| January 2026 | Hold | 2.25% |
| March 2026 | Hold | 2.25% |
| April 2026 | Hold | 2.25% |
| June 2026 | Hold | 2.25% |
| July 2026 | Hold (with Monetary Policy Report) | 2.25% |
Market impact scenarios
| Scenario | Likely market read | What it means in plain English |
|---|---|---|
| Hold at 2.25% | Likely read as consistent with the “prolonged hold” path described by analysts cited by nesto.ca; limited immediate reaction in the Canadian dollar or bond yields | Borrowing costs stay where they are; savers and mortgage holders see no immediate change |
| Hike | Would likely be read as a hawkish shift given commentary from Immigration News Canada pointing to growing hike expectations for 2027; could push the Canadian dollar higher against the US dollar and euro | Loans, mortgages and lines of credit become more expensive, but savings accounts and GICs typically pay more |
| Cut | Would be a surprise against current economist commentary and would likely weaken the Canadian dollar | Cheaper borrowing for mortgages and business loans, but lower returns on savings |
What will the statement and press conference signal?
Because December is not a Monetary Policy Report meeting, the accompanying statement tends to be shorter, but markets will still parse it closely for forward guidance, meaning any hint about the likely direction of future decisions. Analysts will be watching for language on inflation’s path back to the 2% target, references to US trade policy and tariffs given Canada’s reliance on cross-border trade, and any signal about the neutral rate, the level at which policy is neither stimulating nor restricting the economy. With the overnight rate sitting at the low end of the Bank’s own estimated 2.25% to 3.25% neutral range, commentators will be alert to any wording suggesting the next move is more likely to be a hike than a further hold or cut. Because the Bank does not publish a recorded vote, there is no formal “dissent” to track in the way there is at the Fed or the Bank of England, though the summary of deliberations released roughly two weeks later can reveal a range of views within the Governing Council.
What It Means for Your Money
For Canadian mortgage holders, a hold means variable rates and lines of credit tied to bank prime rates stay unchanged; a hike would raise monthly payments on variable-rate and soon-to-renew mortgages, while a cut would lower them. Fixed-rate mortgages react more to bond yields than to the overnight rate itself, but the Bank’s tone can still move those yields. Savers with high-interest savings accounts or guaranteed investment certificates (GICs) would likely see slightly better returns after a hike and slightly worse ones after a cut, with banks typically adjusting these rates within days to weeks of a Bank of Canada move.
The decision also matters beyond Canada. A stronger or weaker Canadian dollar affects the cost of Canadian imports for UK and European buyers and the returns UK and eurozone investors get from Canadian assets when converted back into pounds or euros. Because the Bank of Canada, the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England are all navigating similar inflation and growth trade-offs, this decision is also watched as a read-across for how other central banks might be thinking, which can move global bond and equity markets, including pension funds and stock market index trackers held by ordinary savers in the UK and Europe.
Related events
- Previous decision: Bank of Canada Rate Decision, October 2026
- Full schedule: Bank of Canada rate decisions hub
- Canada’s inflation and jobs data released in the weeks before this meeting typically shape the Governing Council’s final judgement
Frequently Asked Questions
What time is the Bank of Canada’s December 2026 decision announced?
The decision is released at 9:45 am ET, which is 2:45 pm in London, on December 9, 2026.
Will the Bank of Canada cut rates in December 2026?
No one can say in advance; the Bank had held its rate at 2.25% throughout 2026 up to July, and some economists cited by Immigration News Canada expected the next move to be a hike rather than a cut, but this is a possibility, not a certainty.
What is the Bank of Canada’s current policy rate?
The target for the overnight rate had been held at 2.25% since October 2025, according to the Bank of Canada’s own press releases, with the Bank Rate at 2.5% and the deposit rate at 2.20%.
When is the next Bank of Canada rate decision after December 2026?
The Bank’s 2027 schedule, published in July 2026, sets the first 2027 decision for January 27, 2027.
Where can I watch the Bank of Canada announcement?
The Bank of Canada publishes its statements directly on bankofcanada.ca, and major financial news outlets typically carry the release live at 9:45 am ET.