Governor of the Bank of Canada Tiff Macklem walks outside the Bank of Canada building in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada June 22, 2020. The Bank of Canada (BoC) - seeking to control soaring inflation - hiked rates 10 times between March of last year and July 2023, pushing them up to a 22-year high of 5.00%. "Higher interest rates are squeezing many Canadians, but these rates are relieving price pressures," Macklem said. "To return to low inflation and stable growth in the years ahead, we need these higher interest rates and slow growth in the short term," he added. Some 60% of mortgage holders have yet to renew their home loans at higher rates, the BoC says.

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Persons: Blair Gable, Steve Scherer, David Ljunggren OTTAWA, Macklem, David Ljunggren Organizations: Bank of Canada, REUTERS, BoC, Saint, Saint John Region Chamber of Commerce, CBC, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Ottawa , Ontario, Canada, Saint John, Atlantic, New Brunswick, Reuters Ottawa