This page records every change to the Bank of Canada’s policy interest rate (the target for the overnight rate) in the Bank’s online data series, with a year-by-year summary. It is the history page of the site’s Canadian interest rate guides; for today’s rate and what follows from it, see the current Bank of Canada interest rate.
The rate today
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Current target overnight rate | 2.25% (effective October 29, 2025) |
| Bank Rate | 2.5% (effective October 29, 2025) |
| Cycle peak (since 2009) | 5% (reached July 12, 2023) |
| Next scheduled announcement | October 28, 2026 |
Source: Bank of Canada Valet API, series V39079 (target rate) and BR.CDN (Bank Rate), fetched 2026-10-02, as of October 1, 2026.
This year’s announcement dates and decisions are on the Bank of Canada rate announcement schedule.
Every policy rate change
| Date | Decision | Policy Rate | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 21, 2009 | Data begins | 0.25% | — |
| June 1, 2010 | Hike | 0.5% | +0.25% |
| July 20, 2010 | Hike | 0.75% | +0.25% |
| September 8, 2010 | Hike | 1% | +0.25% |
| January 21, 2015 | Cut | 0.75% | -0.25% |
| July 15, 2015 | Cut | 0.5% | -0.25% |
| July 12, 2017 | Hike | 0.75% | +0.25% |
| September 6, 2017 | Hike | 1% | +0.25% |
| January 17, 2018 | Hike | 1.25% | +0.25% |
| July 11, 2018 | Hike | 1.5% | +0.25% |
| October 24, 2018 | Hike | 1.75% | +0.25% |
| March 4, 2020 | Cut | 1.25% | -0.5% |
| March 16, 2020 | Cut | 0.75% | -0.5% |
| March 27, 2020 | Cut | 0.25% | -0.5% |
| March 2, 2022 | Hike | 0.5% | +0.25% |
| April 13, 2022 | Hike | 1% | +0.5% |
| June 1, 2022 | Hike | 1.5% | +0.5% |
| July 13, 2022 | Hike | 2.5% | +1% |
| September 7, 2022 | Hike | 3.25% | +0.75% |
| October 26, 2022 | Hike | 3.75% | +0.5% |
| December 7, 2022 | Hike | 4.25% | +0.5% |
| January 25, 2023 | Hike | 4.5% | +0.25% |
| June 7, 2023 | Hike | 4.75% | +0.25% |
| July 12, 2023 | Hike | 5% | +0.25% |
| June 5, 2024 | Cut | 4.75% | -0.25% |
| July 24, 2024 | Cut | 4.5% | -0.25% |
| September 4, 2024 | Cut | 4.25% | -0.25% |
| October 23, 2024 | Cut | 3.75% | -0.5% |
| December 11, 2024 | Cut | 3.25% | -0.5% |
| January 29, 2025 | Cut | 3% | -0.25% |
| March 12, 2025 | Cut | 2.75% | -0.25% |
| September 17, 2025 | Cut | 2.5% | -0.25% |
| October 29, 2025 | Cut | 2.25% | -0.25% |
Source: Bank of Canada Valet API, series V39079 (“Target for the overnight rate”), fetched 2026-09-03. Valet API serves V39079 only from 2009-04-21 onward; earlier history is not pipeline-sourced.
Year by year, 2015 to 2025
| Year | Rate at the start of the year | Rate at the end of the year | Changes during the year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1.00% | 0.50% | 2 cuts |
| 2016 | 0.50% | 0.50% | No change |
| 2017 | 0.50% | 1.00% | 2 hikes |
| 2018 | 1.00% | 1.75% | 3 hikes |
| 2019 | 1.75% | 1.75% | No change |
| 2020 | 1.75% | 0.25% | 3 cuts |
| 2021 | 0.25% | 0.25% | No change |
| 2022 | 0.25% | 4.25% | 7 hikes |
| 2023 | 4.25% | 5.00% | 3 hikes |
| 2024 | 5.00% | 3.25% | 5 cuts |
| 2025 | 3.25% | 2.25% | 4 cuts |
Each row is read from the table of changes above. The decisions of the current year are on the announcement schedule.
Peak and low points in the series
- Cycle peak: 5.00%, reached on July 12, 2023.
- Low point: 0.25%, the rate when the series begins on April 21, 2009, and again after the cuts of March 2020.
The Bank of Canada’s online series for this rate starts in 2009; the table above covers that period.
Prime rate and mortgage rate history
The prime rate usually moves with the policy rate, but the gap between the two has not always been the same; the Canada prime rate page has the published prime rate year by year. Posted and average mortgage rates over the same years are in the mortgage rate history.
What the changes meant
For savers, each change moved savings account rates and new GIC rates in the same direction, at a pace set by each institution; the page on how rate changes affect savings explains the timing. For borrowers, the Bank of Canada policy rate guide explains how decisions reach variable and fixed mortgages, and the interest rate forecast page collects bank economists’ views of where the rate goes next.
Related pages
- Current Bank of Canada interest rate
- Bank of Canada rate announcement schedule
- Canada prime rate
- How rate changes affect savings, GICs and bonds
- CRA prescribed interest rate, a different rate set quarterly by the CRA
Sources
The figures and rules on this page come from these sources, last checked against them on October 2, 2026. How we check facts.
- Bank of Canada: Bank of Canada raises policy rate 25 basis points, continues quantitative tightening
- Bank of Canada: Data table