Manulife Investment: The Bank of Canada is expected to ignore accelerating inflation.

Dominique Lapointe of Manulife Investment Management said that the Bank of Canada may overlook the temporary price increases caused by last year's federal tax rebates, which had pushed overall inflation rates from an average of 2.2% since September to 2.4%. The macro strategist noted that annualized core inflation indicators for one month, three months, and six months have all slowed down, indicating that price pressures are still under control and reflecting limited ability of businesses to pass on higher input costs to consumers. Lapointe expects the Bank of Canada to keep interest rates unchanged at the next policy meeting on January 28, and trade uncertainties will likely keep the central bank on the sidelines for the entirety of 2026.