Canadians lack confidence in fight to curb inflation: Poll

Canadians are unconvinced that policy makers will be able to rein inflation back to pre-pandemic levels, a worrying development that could reinforce the need for the Bank of Canada to be vigilant about price pressures.

Canadians are unconvinced that policy makers will be able to rein inflation back to pre-pandemic levels, a worrying development that could reinforce the need for the Bank of Canada to be vigilant about price pressures.

A large majority of Canadians, or 63.5 per cent, say they lack confidence that inflation will return to more normal levels, according to a survey by Nanos Research Group for Bloomberg News. 

Just under a third, or 30.6 per cent, believe that price increases -- currently running at a yearly clip of 4.7 per cent, the highest since 2003 -- will come down to pre-pandemic trends, while 5.9 per cent are unsure.

Any sign of rising inflation expectations would be a major concern for the Bank of Canada, making it harder for the central bank to rein in price pressures. Policy makers led by Governor Tiff Macklem are already poised to raise interest rates by more than a full percentage point next year, in part to ensure expectations don’t deanchor from their 2 per cent inflation target.

The Bank of Canada’s next policy decision -- and last of 2021 -- is on Wednesday.