By April 24, cumulative purchases of assets by the Bank stood at $ billion, equivalent to well over 10 percent of Canada’s GDP. This has so far roughly tripled the size of our balance sheet, which began the episode at $ billion. Some commentators have likened these operations to “printing money,” which will cause inflation down the road.
Indeed, these operations do look the same as what happens when the Bank prints new bank notes. However, this is quite different. Out in the economy people are choosing to hold cash, whether by drawing on a line of credit or by selling a financial asset.