At 4:00 p.m. ET (2000 GMT), the Canadian dollar was trading at C$1.2777 to the greenback, or 78.27 US cents, down 0.6 percent.

The currency traded in a range of C$1.2703 to C$1.2820.

Speaking in Montreal, Poloz defended the use of inflation targets and repeated the bank's message that it was monitoring wage growth and inflation, as well as economic capacity to see how the economy was adjusting to the July and September rate hikes.

"I do think that on net, it may actually suggest that the hurdle for a move in policy in the near-term is somewhat of a high bar," said Mazen Issa, senior FX strategist at TD Securities in New York.

"At the same time, I'm still somewhat encouraged that the data is evolving rather constructively."

The Bank of Canada is expected to hold rates steady in December following the two hikes. But data last Friday showing unexpected strength in the nation's job market has supported expectations of increases next year.