The Bank of Canada isn’t in the habit of suddenly changing course on its monetary policy, or making snap decisions. Monetary policy is planned out years in advance, using the best economic data available at the time. When circumstances change, policy has buffers built in to cushion the shock, so as to maintain the course. One of these cushions is interest rates, or more specifically, the lowering of interest rates.

Central banks keep a few weapons available for times of trouble, and these weapons should be used sparingly, for to use them often or continually, reduces their effectiveness. A perfect example of this is the Bank of Canada keeping interest rates at historic lows for over 5 years, and even previous to that, keeping them very low for a decade.

They did this because 2008-2009 was in fact a much bigger shock than many realize, and the after effects did not go away, though we were told they did. They went away through the magic of low interest rates and loose lending policies, both of which leave nasty hangovers later down the road. Unfortunately for Canada, that later just arrived. And even worse, there are no emergency measures Canada can take to buffer the effects, because the Bank of Canada chose to keep taking the drug of low rates, instead of putting the medicine away, lest it become ineffective.

All of this begs the question, “How could they not know?” Answer, they do know, but being that they’re politicians, they care only about one thing, and that’s getting elected in the short term. They aren’t concerned about anything beyond the election cycle, so long as they are seen to be creating jobs and improving the economy, no other questions will be raised. To be fair to politicians, the people bear some responsibility in this too, as we have become far too complacent and let politicians pretty much do what they want, so long as we get our benefits and government hand outs. This works, until it doesn’t. Just ask some of the European countries.

Today’s decision is a warning, a shot over the bow, to Canadian investors, business owners, and even those working a job. The Bank of Canada just took an action which proves they’re very worried, though they’ll never admit it. And if they’re worried, you should be too, because they’ve seen the hard data, and it’s ugly enough for them to push the panic button by unexpectedly lowering rates. They hope this will buffer the blow, but going from 1% to .75% will do very little to stop the effects of sub $50 oil and an economy screeching to a halt, despite the lowest rates in history for the longest time in history.

Did you catch that? Even with the lowest rates in history, Canada is still sinking into the abyss. This should give you cause for great concern, and change your calculations on big decisions like buying a house, expanding your business, or renovating your home. Lean times are ahead, to be sure, this is not the time to be spending money unnecessarily, or betting on an improved economy. You may think your job is secure, just like 50,000 federal employees thought their jobs were secure until 2014, when they lost them.

Am I trying to be a gloom and doomer? No, I’m trying to warn Canadians, who are altogether far too complacent in the face of real danger. That’s my job, as a Vancouver Wealth Management expert, I grow and protect my client’s assets. My company, Wealth Management Vancouver, specializes in high net worth clients, who understand the nature of politicians and want a financial advisor who can protect them from the foolish decisions they make.