VIEW: CIBC note that Fitch's "rating.........>

CANADA: VIEW: CIBC note that Fitch's "rating action was not unexpected. All

rating agencies have been pointing out long before the pandemic that Canada's

high debt burden limits its financial flexibility within the AAA category. With

the pandemic, federal and provincial governments are all seeing a rapid

deterioration in their fiscal performance which is pressuring their financial

metrics. We highlight, however, that while Canada's debt burden may be high

relative to the AAA peer group, another important perspective is their relative

standing compared to the G7 and G20 Groups of Countries. On that basis, they

place well. While we cannot rule out that other rating agencies will not

similarly downgrade Canada's rating, we still anticipate that Canada will get

through this crisis with a very high average rating relative to the G7 and G20

peer groups. Moreover, we believe that no downgrades will have a long-lasting

effect on its access to funding in both domestic and international markets. Over

the past year, non-resident holdings of Canadian government bonds has been

stable around 30-35%. While debt will continue to rise in the near-term, debt

affordability remains very high and will help to cushion the financial impacts."