OTTAWA, ON – The Hon. Pierre Poilievre, Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and the Official Opposition, released the following statement on the Bank of Canada’s rate hike:

“Today, for the seventh time this year, the Bank of Canada hiked interest rates with another oversized 0.5% hike, bringing rates to 4.25%. First-time home buyers are now paying $500 more in monthly payments for the same mortgage as they were a year ago and it now takes 67% of income to service a traditional mortgage. This is all thanks to Justin Trudeau’s inflationary and wasteful spending. The cost-of-living crisis will push more struggling Canadians over the edge. 

“The Auditor General yesterday confirmed what Conservatives have been warning about since 2020 – wasteful spending due to lack of controls led to at least $32 billion in overpayments and suspicious payments. Scotiabank has estimated that 1.25%, nearly 30%, of these punishing hikes are directly a result of COVID spending. Justin Trudeau’s inflationary and wasteful spending has created a cost-of- living crisis that is pushing many Canadians over the edge.

“1 in 5 Canadians are already skipping meals thanks to JustinFlation and a record 1.5 million Canadians are visiting food banks in a single month. With these relentless rate hikes more and more already struggling Canadians will have to choose between paying their mortgage or putting food on the table.

“Canadians are out of money and Justin Trudeau is out of touch, but Conservatives have a plan to clean up this mess. We will cap government spending, we will make more energy, food, and homes here, and we will axe the carbon tax. Canadians can’t afford Justin Trudeau and his costly coalition anymore, it’s time to bring “common cents” back to Ottawa.”