Bank of Canada to raise interest rates today

National interest rates are expected to be set at 1 per cent today, and then remain unchanged well into next year.

The Bank of Canada is expected to raise interest rates from .75 per cent to 1 per cent at its board of governors meeting today. TD Bank is projecting that once the raise is made, no further increase will take place until at least the second quarter of 2011. Previously, the BOC had signaled its intent to continue hiking interest rates next year to control spending as the economy recovered, but many analysts believe the U.S. is headed into a double-dip recession which could hurt the Canadian economy and eliminate the need to raise borrowing costs in Canada.