Bank of Canada expected to hold at 2.25% on September 2 as inflation ticks up to 3%

THREAT · Builders & Developers · Interest Rates

The Bank of Canada announces its next policy decision on Tuesday, September 2, and the market consensus is a hold at 2.25% — where the overnight rate has sat since October 2025. MoneySense’s August 27 preview notes CPI inflation rose from 2.8% to 3.0% in July, giving policymakers, in the words of one analyst, “little reason to consider a cut” even as trade tensions with the U.S. escalate.

What it means: The fall selling season will open with no fresh rate tailwind. Buyers who have been waiting for cheaper money have little reason to move on rates alone, so demand has to be won on other grounds — monthly-payment framing, rate buydowns and incentives, and product that pencils at today’s cost of borrowing. Sales and marketing plans built on an assumed autumn cut should be rewritten before launch weekend, not after.