Finally, we said that concerns about corporate governance and the unsettled geopolitical situation could cause some firms and households to delay their spending. By October, the cumulative impact of slower global growth and the financial headwinds led us to reduce our near-term growth projection for Canada.
In our latest Monetary Policy Report, we say that we expect growth to average slightly less than 3 per cent, at annual rates, through to the middle of 2003. But assuming that the financial headwinds and geopolitical concerns dissipate in the second half of next year, we should see a strengthening of domestic and foreign demand and the resumption of above-potential growth in Canada.