Ontario Premier Doug Ford confirmed that people "need a break" from high interest rates, just one day before the Bank of Canada announcement.

The Premier said in a post shared on X, formerly Twitter, "People are hurting, they need a break, it's time for the Bank of Canada to start cutting interest rates."

The Bank of Canada is scheduled to announce the interest rate on Wednesday morning, and it is expected to keep the key interest rate at five percent, with most anticipating the first interest rate cut around June.

Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Budget Officer's report expects the first rate cut to come a bit earlier, expecting it to occur sometime in April.

Some economists expect the Bank of Canada to start cutting interest rates around mid-year.

David Macdonald, Chief Economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, told CTV News in January: "We have seen very minimal economic growth, and no economic growth at all last year." "There is no indication that we will see growth immediately at the start of this year."

The Canadian economy grew at an annual rate of 1 percent in the fourth quarter, surpassing the latest central bank forecasts and economists' expectations. On a per capita basis, real GDP shrank during the same period.

The country's annual inflation rate fell to 2.9 percent in January, which is within the Bank of Canada's target range of 1 to 3 percent. However, the central bank clarified that the target inflation rate is 2 percent.

The Budget Office explained that the economy is likely to grow by 0.8 percent this year, slightly below the central bank's forecast of 1 percent. It also expects the federal deficit to grow by 46.8 billion dollars for the current fiscal year if no new measures are taken – which means it will exceed the Canadian government's fall forecast of 40 billion dollars.

This is the third time in recent months that Ford has asked the central bank to do something about interest rates. In September, Ford urged Tiff Macklem, the Governor of the central bank, to "consider the impact of rising interest rates on ordinary people."

Then in October, he said: "There simply is no excuse for adding to the already overwhelming pressures that previous interest rate hikes have placed on many families and businesses."

The Bank of Canada has raised key interest rates 10 times since March 2022 in an attempt to bring inflation to its target and tighten economic activity.

The central bank is scheduled to release its forecasts for the Canadian economy and inflation on April 10.