The Finance Minister of Canada noted in recent remarks that the Canadian economy remains strong, and he expects it to continue to grow through this year and 2009. Minister Jim Flaherty said in a speech in Calgary that economic fundamentals in the country remain strong despite the problems across the border in the United States.
“Canada’s economic future is bright and I say that based on the economic fundamentals of this country, which are solid,” Flaherty said. Different experts have different views about the likely growth but it’s all on the plus side in terms of positive economic growth for Canada this year and next,” the minister told reporters. He also was quite firm in his determination that there is no housing bubble in Canada similar to the one that has hit the US, and the government has recently addressed long term concerns.
The Canadian government recently made changes to tighten amortizations on government backed mortgages and increase down payments for buyers. These changes include ending government-backed mortgages for 40-year loan periods and requiring that buyers have a minimum of 5% in their down payment. Both of these will increase the amount of equity that homeowners have in their home and help to keep the market strong.
The Bank of Canada has noted in recent comments that it expects inflation to top out at just above 4%, probably early in 2009.
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