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ANALYSIS

OTTAWA — Don’t hold your breath.

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The Fed announced in a statement that all its members were unanimous in deciding to raise rates by 25 basis points to 0.50 per cent, and reassured markets that rates would not rise rapidly

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Just because the U.S. Federal Reserve did what most expected it to do Wednesday — slowly raising its key interest rate for the first time in nearly 10 years — Canada’s central bank is unlikely to adjust its trendsetting lending rate any time soon, perhaps not for another year or more.

But that shouldn’t come as surprise.

Stephen Poloz, the Bank of Canada governor, has already cemented his view that “divergence” in monetary policy should not be feared — it’s a natural progression.

“He has said for some time that policy will track the actual economy, as opposed to historical patterns. That’s definitely a key thing,” said Emanuella Enenajor, senior economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research in New York.