And third, our framework is straightforward to communicate and has come to be well understood. 1 Since moving to the 2 percent inflation target in 1995, the unemployment rate has averaged  7.4 percent, compared with 8.9 percent in the 15 years before we had an inflation target. Taking a long-term perspective underscores the amazing success of flexible inflation targeting.
We first started collecting data on inflation in 1913. Since then, Canada has experimented with a number of monetary policy frameworks, including the Gold Standard, the Bretton Woods system of pegged exchange rates and monetary growth targeting. None of these frameworks was able to deliver low and stable inflation.