REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsSept 6 (Reuters) - Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland defended the central bank's independence on Wednesday after her comments welcoming the Bank of Canada's decision not to increase its key interest rate raised concerns to the contrary.
In a widely expected decision, the Bank of Canada held interest rates steady at a 22-year high of 5%.
It is rare for Canadian government ministers to publicly back or criticize central bank policies.
Like many developed economies, the Bank of Canada makes its monetary policy decisions independent of the federal government.
In June, when the central bank raised rates for the first time after a four-month pause, Freeland stressed that she respected the independence of the central bank, a sentiment she repeated in a press conference later in the day.
Persons:
Thomas White, Chrystia Freeland, Freeland, Derek Holt, Pierre Poilievre, Justin Trudeau's, Steve Scherer, David Ljunggren, Denny Thomas, Leslie Adler
Organizations:
Canadian Finance, Bank of, Bank of Canada, Conservative, Liberal, Ontario, Thomson
Locations:
Canada, Bank of Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Ottawa