The Bank of Canada is referring to what it calls an extremely uncertain economic outlook due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The central bank announced this morning that it is holding its key interest rate at a quarter of one percent as expected.
It is predicting the economy to contract by 7.8 percent this year but warns the numbers could be thrown off if there is a severe second wave of the novel coronavirus.
The central bank's report pegs the annual inflation rate at 0.6 percent this year, rising to 1.2 percent next year and 1.7 percent in 2022.