Deputy PM Chrystia Freeland to talk Canadian economy amid rampant inflation

Chrystia Freeland will address the Empire Club of Canada in Toronto on Thursday afternoon to discuss the outlook for the economy amid rampant inflation.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is set to give a speech about the Canadian economy Thursday as consumers cope with the highest levels of inflation since 1991.

Freeland is set to deliver a keynote address to the Empire Club of Canada in Toronto at noon local time.

The speech, which Global News will carry live, will be her first major update on the Canadian economy since delivering the federal budget in April.

Since that time, inflation has continued to surge in Canada, despite expectations from economists that price growth would cool towards the middle of the year.

The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) reading for April set the annual inflation rate at 6.8 per cent, with the ongoing war in Ukraine and supply chain issues overseas cited as key factors driving price growth.

Opposition parties have criticized the Liberals for not acting on the surging cost of living, with the NDP grilling the government earlier this week on a lack of financial supports for Canadian families.

The Bank of Canada has meanwhile hiked its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points in back-to-back decisions in an effort to tamp down inflation.

The U.S. Federal Reserve took an outsized 75-basis-point step on interest rates Wednesday, with some economists expecting Canada’s central bank will follow suit in July.