balanced stones on a tranquil beach

News: No change to Bank of Canada Rates

To the surprise of nobody, the Bank of Canada left interest rates unchanged — again. This is of interest to DIY investors only because it drives the kinds of rates you can expect from high-interest savings accounts and the like. I try to keep a table up-to-date with all the latest and greatest news for both HISAs and ETFs that are like HISAs over here.

The overnight rate remains at 2.25%. That makes 5 straight rate announcements with no change. The next one for the Bank of Canada happens on July 15th. The next one for the US Federal Reserve is next week, on June 16th.

lonely boat sailing in sea

News: Steady as She Goes — BoC and US Fed rates unchanged

To the surprise of no one, both the Bank of Canada and the US Federal reserve announced no changes to their benchmark rates today.

As reflected in HISA and short-term bond table (Canada & US), the Bank of Canada rate held steady at 2.25% and the US Federal Reserve held their rates steady in a range of 3.50-3.75%.

The posted rates matter because they drive numbers like how much money you can expect to earn from a high interest savings account.

Bank of Canada next announces on June 10. US Fed next announces on June 17.

News: Canadian and US Interest Rates hold steady

Both the Bank of Canada and the US Federal Reserve held their main interest rates steady: 2.25% for the Bank of Canada, and between at 3.50% and 3.75% for the US Fed.

This sort of announcement is of interest to investors in such things as HISAs and ultra short term bonds, which tend to track these rates pretty closely. The HISA and short-term bond table (Canada & US) has been updated with this new data.

My current cash strategy (5% of my retirement portfolio, see here for the most recent details) remains heavily weighted to the US side of the ledger since the interest rates are currently better there.

The next chance to see a change in rates will be a month: April 29, 2026 for both entities.

News: Interest Rate Updates for Canada, US

Eight times a year, the Bank of Canada and the US Federal Reserve have meetings to set and announce their key interest rates. In what I’m sure is a total coincidence, they often happen on the same day. Per the Bank of Canada and the US Fed, here are the dates for 2026:

  • Wednesday, January 28
  • Wednesday, March 18
  • Wednesday, April 29
  • Wednesday, June 10 / June 17th for the Fed
  • Wednesday, July 15 / July 28th for the Fed
  • Wednesday, September 2 / September 15th for the Fed
  • Wednesday, October 28
  • Wednesday, December 9

Normally I don’t really pay too much attention to financial headlines. But since interest rates have a direct impact on the monthly income I can expect from the cash holdings in my portfolio (and by “cash” I mean ultra short-term bond funds1), and since I try to keep my HISA and short-term bond table (Canada & US) accurate, I do pay attention to that particular piece of market intel.

So the Bank of Canada leaves their rate unchanged (again), at 2.25%.

And the US Federal reserve also leaves its target range untouched, at 3.5%<->3.75%2 .

I’ll take a look at rates listed on HISA and short-term bond table (Canada & US) to make sure they remain accurate in the coming days. You can always let me know if something looks off. I’m at comments@moneyengineer.ca.

  1. ZMMK in CAD, ICSH in USD, both members of the ETF All-Stars club ↩︎
  2. And here you see why most of my “cash” is in ICSH instead of ZMMK. US interest rates are higher in Canada, and although there is of course foreign exchange risk involved, I’m ok with that. ↩︎

News: Interest rate cut in US, Canada stays the course

The Bank of Canada and the US Federal Reserve both had their last rate setting meeting of 2025 today. These meetings are of interest to the DIY investor because they set the bar for the interest rate paid on short term loans / high interest savings accounts. I track a universe of HISAs and ETFs of interest over at https://moneyengineer.ca/hisa-and-short-term-bond-table-canada-us/.

The Bank of Canada announcement is here, and the US Fed announcement is here. The Bank of Canada kept things the same, with a rate of 2.25% while the US cut their rates by a quarter point, so they’re now sitting in a range of 3.5-3.75%. Anyway, the gap between the US and Canadian rates is narrowing, but the US overnight rates are still 1.5% higher (aka 150 basis points) and so it pays to use USD money market funds and HISAs if you’re able.

The next opportunity for the banks to mess with interest rates is January 28, 2026.