If those who monitor the U.S. central bank are to believed, one of them is that the Federal Reserve is going to raise interest rates this Wednesday, giving this country a lower central bank than that of the States -- something that hasn't happened since 2007.
Canada is inextricably linked to the U.S., so anything that happens there is bound to have spillover effects here, and the two economies are telling vastly different stories at the moment.
In the U.S., the economy was expanding at a 3.2% annual pace in the third quarter, its fastest rate in two years. The job market is also booming, with the jobless rate dropping to a nine-year low of 4.6%
In Canada, meanwhile, the picture isn't looking quite as rosy. While doing slightly better than 2015's low bar, the economy is forecast to only expand by 1.1% this year, and the vast majority of new jobs being created are part-time.
With numbers like that, it's not hard to see why the two central banks are leaning in opposite directions.
In its latest policy statement, the Bank of Canada did the expected and kept its rate right where it has been for more than a year, at 0.5%. While keeping its toes planted firmly on the sidelines, the bank noted "a significant amount of economic slack remains in Canada, in contrast to the United States."
When the central bank's rate moves, it has an effect on variable-rate mortgages. But more Canadians have fixed-rate mortgages, which are linked to what's happening in the bond market, which responds to market forces.
That means that Canadian borrowers renewing the terms of their loans may soon be asked to pay more, even as the central bank in this country is contemplating making borrowing cheaper.
