The Bank of Canada is the country's central bank. The BoC's main role is to monitor and promote the economic and financial welfare of the country, as defined by the Bank of Canada Act.
The BoC has five main areas of responsibility:
Monetary policy: The Bank will use monetary policy to influence the supply of money circulating in the economy with the aim to keep inflation low and economic growth stable.
Financial system: The BoC will take actions to promote safe, sound and efficient financial systems, within Canada and internationally. In this way, the BoC will conduct transactions in financial markets in support of these objectives.
Currency: The BoC designs, issues and distributes Canada's bank notes.
Funds management: The Bank of Canada is the "fiscal agent" for the Government of Canada, managing its public debt programs and foreign exchange reserves.
Retail payments supervision: The Bank will supervise payment service providers, according to the Retail Payment Activities Act.
Setting the official overnight rate is one of the Bank's key monetary policy tools. The Bank will announce potential rate changes during one of eight annual, pre-scheduled rate announcements. Based on current economic data and BoC analysis, the Bank will either cut, raise or hold the overnight interest rate.