Bank of Canada's Rogers Says More Housing Supply, Not Interest Rates, Key to Affordability

07:12 AM EDT, 10/02/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The housing market's affordability challenge reflects a broader set of factors, as housing affordability remains one of the most pressing economic issues facing Canadians today, according to Bank of Canada Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers. Pandemic-era low rates supported growth and lowered mortgage costs, but also fueled housing demand and prices, said Rogers in a late Thursday speech in Victoria, British Columbia. At the same time, supply struggled to keep up with demand due to population growth, zoning restrictions and infrastructure constraints, Rogers added. Policies such as the mortgage stress test have strengthened household and financial-system resilience, but have done little to improve housing affordability, said the BoC official. Monetary policy is "a blunt tool" that cannot directly lower housing prices, increase construction or accelerate permitting, according to Rogers, adding that the central bank's main contribution to affordability is maintaining low and stable inflation. "Housing must remain an important input into monetary policy decisions, but targeting house prices directly with interest rates would ask monetary policy to do more than it can reasonably do," she said. Lasting progress requires more housing supply, better planning and infrastructure and policies that reduce reliance on rising home prices, according to Rogers.