“A long-lasting and broad-based trade conflict would badly hurt economic activity in Canada. At the same time, the higher cost of imported goods will put direct upward pressure on inflation,” Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said in a prepared opening statement on Wednesday.

The Bank of Canada cut its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points to three per cent in a move that was widely expected by investors and economists, but what comes next is up in the air given the looming trade war with the United States.