Aaron Ruston says it was "time for interest rates to rise."

Ruston, who owns Moose Jaw's Purposed Financial, is commenting after the Bank of Canada this week increased their key rate to 0.75% from 0.5%, the first rate hike in seven years. 

Ruston says we shouldn't be surprised, as the low rate over the last several years has been abnormal compared to the last several decades. 

"I look at my kids (aged 25 and 23), they've come into their time of adult life where they've never known anything but low, low interest rates," Ruston stated. "So really all this is doing is starting an upward trend of bringing interest rates back to where they historically are closer to."

Ruston says the rate increase is a sign of a surge in our economy. 

"What's becoming more and more clear is that economic growth is on the rise, and it's anticipated that Canada could be the biggest growth sector in the developed world this year," he said. "Things are happening out there."

Almost immediately after the Bank of Canada made their announcement Wednesday, the Canadian dollar spiked, rising over a cent in value, trading at over 78 cents in U.S. funds.

"That is very good for those that are buying things in the U.S. with Canadian dollars, but for the person that exports a lot into the States, that impacts their bottom line a fair amount," commented Ruston, who added that overall, the rate hike "is healthy."

Ruston acknowledged that the hike won't be positive for everybody, especially those with a high amount of debt that have a variable interest rate that fluctuates based on the Bank of Canada figure. 

"A 25 basis-point rise isn't a big chunk, but if this is part of a trend over the next year or so, it could really impact those that have high debt positions," he explained. 

"Sometimes the best investment you can make is paying down debt," he continued. "This would be a time to get a plan together for 'how am I going to reduce that non-deductable debt?'. The investment part is a wonderful thing, but if we're paying extra-high interest rates, that erodes our ability to have income in the future."