The Bank of Canada (BoC) is set to deliver a fourth consecutive out-sized interest-rate hike on Wednesday to slow the country's economy and drag inflation down from four-decade highs.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected a rate hike by at least 50 basis points, and most say it will be 75 basis points. That would bring the policy rate to 3.25 percent, the highest among major advanced economies, and also leave Canada with its highest policy rate since 2008.

Canadian inflation cooled in July to an annual rate of 7.6 percent from 8.1 percent in June, but remains far above the central bank's 2 percent target, while the jobless rate is at a record low of 4.9 percent.

"At the end of the day, the mandate is 2 percent inflation. If that doesn't continue to moderate, there will be no choice but to keep things restrictive and keep hiking," said Taylor Schleich, director of economics and strategy at National Bank Financial.

The BoC aggressively moved up lending rates by a full percentage point in July, the largest amount in more than 20 years to fight inflation.

(With input from Reuters)