Bank of Canada’s Macklem, ahead of budget, warns against spurring housing demand

Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem, speaking a month before the federal budget is delivered, on Wednesday warned against policies that might spur demand amid a housing crunch, saying it can only be resolved by increasing supply. In an interview after keeping its key overnight rate on hold at 5% earlier in the day, Macklem said that borrowing costs cannot solve the country's housing problem. "Our message really is that high rates, low rates – if we don't grow supply, we're not going to solve the housing problem," Macklem said.