Perspectives Scotiabank Perspectives

The Bank of Canada has cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points, marking the second cut in as many months, to 4.5%. Scotiabank’s Chief Economist Jean-François Perrault returns once again to break down the decision and its implications. 
For an up-to-date breakdown of the Bank of Canada's key interest rate and its change over time alongside inflation numbers, visit our interest rate page. 
  
Key moments this episode: 
1:00 – Why Canadians should “take a lot of comfort” from the latest announcement  
1:42 – What might have given the Bank of Canada assurance to make a cut 
3:13 – Will we see back-to-back cuts in the next two meetings as well? 
4:21 – What are the biggest risks that could keep inflation from coming down? 
6:20 – The state of the housing market – a large factor when it comes to inflation in Canada 
8:06 – What about risk around a potential recession? Are we out of the woods? 
9:37 – What is the impact of the U.S. and Canadian central banks diverging? 
11:30 – The 3 key takeaways for Canadians from this announcement 

This episode we have a very special guest: award-winning author Michelle Good. Michelle is a writer of Cree ancestry and a member of the Red Pheasant Cree Nation in Saskatchewan. Her books include Five Little Indians and Truth Telling. Her writing takes an unflinching look at our nation’s past and how it still affects the present. So, she’s here today to give us a bit of a history lesson ahead of Canada Day. You’ll hear a conversation between Michelle and Myan Marcen-Gaudaur, Scotiabank’s Director of Social Impact and Reconciliation. They talk about the motivation behind Michelle’s writing, the state of reconciliation in Canada, the concept of “radical hope” and more.  
This episode contains accounts of violence and mention of suicide. 
 
Key moments this episode: 
3:00 – Why Canada’s colonial history is still very much part of the present 
4:00 – Michelle gives some insight into a very personal chapter of her latest book, Truth Telling 
6:21 – What the relationship between Michelle’s mother and her grandmother can tell us about how challenging it can be being Indigenous in a non-Indigenous world 
8:10 – How colonial perceptions can be passed down to subsequent generations 
9:10 – The meaning behind the chapter titled $13.69 and what it says about restoration for the past 
12:00 – Michelle defines her concept of “radical hope”  
13:20 – How the crisis around missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and Two-Spirit peoples is rooted in history 
17:31 – The decimation of the buffalo and the impact that had on Indigenous communities 
21:35 – Why is the truth part of “truth and reconciliation” so important?  
25:03 – How can Canadians move from knowledge to action when it comes to reconciliation?  
27:54 – Michelle reflects on the changes she has seen in thoughts and attitudes among non-Indigenous people in her lifetime 

The Bank of Canada has cut its key interest rate for the first time in more than four years, marking a pivot in its long fight to tamp down inflation. After a quarter-percentage-point cut, the central bank’s benchmark rate now sits at 4.75% — welcome relief for variable-mortgage holders, businesses and others feeling the pinch of higher interest rates.
Scotiabank’s Chief Economist Jean-François Perrault is back to discuss the central bank’s decision to cut, what this means for Canada’s housing market and the broader economy, and what Canadians can expect in the months ahead. 
For an up-to-date breakdown of the Bank of Canada's key interest rate and its change over time alongside inflation numbers, visit our interest rate page. 

Key moments this episode:  
1:21 – JF's initial take on the central bank’s decision to cut its key rate 
1:50 – Why did the Bank of Canada decide to cut today? 
2:31 – Will inflation get back down to the Bank of Canada’s target? 
3:45 – What does this cut mean for Canadians? How will they feel the difference? 
5:00 – How many more cuts can we expect this year? How fast or slow will this process be? 
5:45 – What can we expect to see next year based on this latest cut? 
6:15 – Is this the ‘soft landing’ we’ve been hoping for? 
7:45 – What are the indicators that Canadians should be looking for to tell us the path ahead for future cuts? 
8:43 – The three key takeaways for Canadians from this latest decision 

People are living longer, but the cost of caregiving is something many Canadians don’t plan for. Our guest this episode is Dr. Zahinoor Ismail. He’s a dementia expert and Clinician Scientist at the Hotchkiss Brain Institute at the University of Calgary. He’ll tell us all about the often overlooked emotional and financial impacts of caring for those with dementia as well as the research he’s doing with the help of charity Gordie Howe CARES. 
For more information on the University of Calgary CAN-PROTECT caregiver study and for caregiver resources visit Gordie Howe CARES. 

Key moments this episode: 
1:27 – What exactly is dementia and how it is different from Alzheimer's? 
3:23 – What is meant by the term “caregiver”? How has the definition evolved? 
5:46 – Three major factors that can contribute to the burden on a family/friend caregiver 
10:19 – The financial and emotional cost of caring for a loved one 
11:20 – How Gordie Howe CARES is helping caregivers 
14:20 – An example of the financial burdens of caregiving 
15:14 – What about the taboo around having a loved one with cognitive decline? How does that affect caregivers? 
15:56 – The two things Dr. Ismail finds rewarding about this work 
17:33 – How can caregiving be made a positive experience?  

Generative AI, the kind of artificial intelligence that creates content for you or answers questions based on a prompt, is already changing many aspects of our lives. But according to our guest this episode, that’s just the tip of the iceberg, especially when it comes to businesses taking advantage of this new technology. Divya Goyal is an Analyst in Global Equity Research at Scotiabank and will give us a birds-eye view of how Canadian businesses are approaching and adopting this revolutionary technology. She’ll tell us what sectors are ripe for disruption, what role Canada could play when it comes to homegrown innovation, some unintended consequences of this new technology and much more. 
 
Key moments this episode: 
1:27 – A quick snapshot of the state of AI 
3:25 – How have technologies like generative AI changed things for business? 
5:38 – Why we are just at the ‘tip of the iceberg” with generative AI adoption in business 
8:04 – How businesses have started to use these AI technologies already 
10:11 – Which industries are most “ripe for disruption” when it comes to AI 
12:29 – Is AI going to take away jobs? 
12:49 – What about the increased demand for electricity and electrical grids driven by AI’s increased usage? 
15: 33 – Where does Canada stand in terms of its adoption of these technologies in business? 
17:05 – What is the state of AI technology development in Canada? 
19:27 – How will AI reshape our world ten years from now? 
21:38 – What's the next big thing when it comes to AI tech? 

Scotiabank Senior Economist Farah Omran is back this episode to give us her take on the state of the Canadian housing market. She'll break down the latest numbers, explain the high stakes and “suspense” she’s seeing, tell us what might play out in the next six months and much more. 
 
Key moments this episode: 
1:10 – Farah catches us up on the market since her last podcast appearance in the fall 
2:41 – What Farah means when she says “stakes are high”  
3:42 – The mystery behind why we’re seeing a relatively slow spring real estate season 
5:38 – Are there any markets that are especially hot in Canada? 
6:45 – Are people waiting for rate cuts before entering the market? 
8:12 – How the housing market impacts the interest rate outlook and vice-versa  
10:02 – An update on housing shortages and what governments (including the recent federal budget) are doing 
15:18 – Digging into the psychology around the housing market 
17:03 – Farah breaks out her non-existent crystal ball: what might the next six months look like?