Brexit, the decision by British voters to leave the European Union (EU) has surprised markets and will no doubt lead to continued uncertainty for an extended period of time. Stock markets around the world are still reeling and the British pound (GBP) continues to plunge as Brexit fears continue to swirl while the Canadian Dollar is holding up quite well.

British instability could boost international demand for Canadian housing, particularly the Vancouver foreign investment elements of the overheating housing market, now that London, for years one of the world’s leading targets of foreign capital, suddenly becomes more precarious.

Meanwhile in Canada, the Bank of Canada (Boc) will wait and see what happens, but would most likely keep interest rates at record lows for now. The BoC says the impact of the United Kingdom (U.K.)’s vote to leave the EU could trim Canada’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 0.1% over the next two and a half years. The bank assessed the impact of the Brexit vote for the first time as it released a package of downgraded economic projections for Canada on July 13, 2016.

There is a possibility though that higher risk or liquidity premiums could be built into mortgage rates, especially variable rates as Brexit unfolds over the next few years. Fixed rates would remain unchanged and the prime rate could potentially be increased over the next 2-3 years. If so, it would be advisable to refinance variable-rate debt and lock in a fixed-rate.

While the aftermath of Brexit may seem drastic for European markets, the negative impact will be relatively muted here in Canada as only about 4% of Canadian trade is with Europe and only roughly 3% with Britain.

With that being said, Canada does far more business with the U.K. than other EU countries, but that’s the point. It wanted to pry open new market opportunities for Canadian goods and services, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe, where it lacks traditional trading relationships.