The Bank of Canada held its benchmark interest rate steady on Wednesday, moving back to the sidelines for what financial markets expect to be an extended pause.

As widely anticipated, the central bank kept its policy rate at 2.25 per cent, following cuts in September and October.

With the Canadian economy “proving resilient” in the face of U.S. tariffs, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said that the policy rate was at “about the right level to keep inflation close to 2 per cent while helping the economy through this period of structural adjustment.”

He added that the bank could resume easing if an economic shock or accumulation of weak data “materially change the outlook.”