TD's chief economist says Canadian home owners now being squeezed by variable-rate mortgages should blame the Bank of Canada for assuring them during the pandemic that rates would not rise before 2023.

In the wake of optimistic projections by Canada's central bank—made during the pandemic when BOC was trying to project calm and stimulate the economy with ultra-low interest rates—nearly 60% of home buyers grabbed variable-rate mortgages as late as January 2022, compared to 6% at the end of 2019, according to statistics from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

A new report from TD's Beata Caranci, the bank's chief economist, connects this shift to BOC's messaging by citing this statement in October 2020 from Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem: "You can be confident that interest rates will be low for a long time."