TORONTO – For the first time in a long time, economists expect the Bank of Canada to begin cutting interest rates in mid-2024 to avoid a deep recession. Last month, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem reiterated what he said when rate hikes began in March 2022, that the central bank would lower the lending rate once inflation had reached 2%. “We don’t need to wait until we get back to 2%,” Macklem then told the parliamentary finance committee on October 30. “We have to wait until we are clearly on the path to 2%”. (more…)