The Bank of Canada held interest rates at 2.75 per cent on Wednesday, pointing to a mixed bag of unexpectedly strong data and the uncertainty of U.S. tariffs as reason for the hold — and some experts say, going forward, rate cuts alone won't be enough to stop an economic slowdown.

In his opening remarks to reporters, governor Tiff Macklem characterized the Canadian economy as "softer but not sharply weaker" and said the central bank's governing council was in agreement about today's rate decision. The decision marks the second consecutive hold since March.

Economists had largely pivoted from initial expectations the central bank would cut the interest rate by 25 basis points after the first-quarter GDP came in at an annualized rate of 2.2 per cent last week, which was stronger than anticipated. click here to read more