We’re gathering more information
Traditional data on inflation, jobs and housing are key to our decisions about whether to lower, raise or maintain our policy interest rate. But they often just give the big picture. And they show what has already happened, weeks later.
Non-traditional data can help us see what’s happening under the surface—and in a timelier way. That’s especially helpful in uncertain and rapidly changing situations.
- At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we used data on restaurant reservations, flight bookings and credit card transactions to see how consumer spending patterns were shifting in real time.
- Today, to gauge the early impact of tariffs, we’re looking at changes in the number of trucks crossing the Canada-US border and the volume of ships entering and leaving ports.
Similarly, our surveys give us a clearer sense of the evolution of the economy, and timelier insights from Canadians across regions and sectors. The quarterly Business Outlook Survey (BOS), the monthly Business Leaders’ Pulse (BLP) and the quarterly Canadian Survey of Consumer Expectations have been especially helpful in recent years.
