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Canada’s debt-to-disposable income was 175 per cent in 2015, the eighth highest in the group. Greece, the median country among OECD members in terms of debt-to-disposable income, was 119 per cent in 2015.

Economists and market observers have worried openly about some of the underpinnings of the Canadian economy appearing weak, particularly business investment levels and sluggish exports.

According to CIBC modelling, recent export levels are 10 to 15 per cent lower than they had been in past eras when the Canadian dollar was also relatively weak. The trend is partly due to a loss in manufacturing activity, Exarhos says, that occurred when the Canadian dollar was soaring alongside high oil prices.

Recent moves in Ottawa to stimulate the economy through massive spending programs have begun to trickle down, analysts say, though observers are torn over the longer-term growth outlook.

“Canadian economic momentum is all but certain to cool as the economy comes off its debt-infused high, although a crash is not expected to be imminent,” according to a note from Russell Investments, a U.S. firm managing roughly US$277 billion in assets.

The firm also said rising debts and fears of a housing bubble in Canada could also spur a significant shock to the economy. “The Achilles heel for the Canadian economy is also what has been its strength: housing,” the analysts said in the note.

The Bank of Canada expects to return to 2 per cent growth in the second half of 2017, after spiking above the 4 per cent threshold in the second quarter. In the years following, non-inflationary growth at full capacity of about 1.5 per cent is “about the best we can hope for,” Poloz said Wednesday. That expectation of prolonged low growth could further complicate future rate decisions for the BoC in coming years.

“The appropriate path for interest rates in this situation is very difficult,” Poloz said.

The bank’s next rate decision is scheduled for Oct. 25.

jsnyder@postmedia.com