Journalists continue to prod Macklem about potential tariffs. Asked whether they’re modelling possible impacts, Macklem said: “We are, of course, doing some analysis to see what those effects could look like.”
In particular, he says, the Bank is “dusting off” the appendix of a 2019 monetary policy report that looked specifically at the impact of a 25 per cent tariff. “It wasn’t exactly what’s been proposed, because it was across everybody, not just Canada,” Macklem said. “And what you see there is, yes, it has a major impact on GDP growth in Canada.
“And if those things happen, certainly they will have a big impact on the Canadian economy, and will have a dramatic effect on our forecast, and we’ll have to, as a governing council, consider what that means for monetary policy.”