You have to give the Bank of Canada credit for simplicity in today’s decision.

The Bank is neutral with respect to the timing and direction of the next change to the policy rate, which will depend on how new information influences the outlook and assessment of risks.

It’s a refreshing change from the wishy-washy jargon in the previous statement where Poloz laid out the risks, mentioning higher inflation, low growth and “elevated household imbalances” before saying:

The Bank judges that the balance of risks remains within the zone for which the current stance of monetary policy is appropriate

The market interpreted the old statement as fractionally dovish but now there is no doubt the BOC is in wait-and-see mode. The Bank also did a excellent job expressing their frustration with persistent mediocre growth and used a great term with “serial disappointment”.

Serial disappointment with economic performance during the past several years has mainly reflected the impact of private-sector deleveraging, fiscal consolidation and, especially, the lingering effect of uncertainty on business investment and trade.

Nevertheless, the Bank continues to believe growth will “eventually” come and is monitoring two critical factors — exports and business investment.

The Bank still expects that the lower Canadian dollar and a projected strengthening in global demand will lead to a pickup in Canadian exports and business investment and, eventually, a more sustainable growth track

Although the BOC shifted to a neutral stance, which is perhaps a fraction more dovish, that’s more than balanced out by signals they will be extremely patient waiting for better growth to materialize. That signals a longer period before rate hikes begin.

The BOC said the economy will gradually return to full capacity “over the next two years.” Given a 6-12 month lag in monetary policy, we’d expect a hike no sooner than this time next year. That reinforces the idea that the Fed will hike before the BOC and will help push USD/CAD higher — at least once Yellen takes a more hawkish stance.

Bottom line: BOC leaves no doubt it’s neutral and will stay that way until growth clearly accelerates, which is longer than the market is anticipating and positive for USD/CAD.