Jump to content








Canadian Dollar Reaches Parity With U.s. Currency


Recommended Posts


Canada has been starting to get it's economic house in order the last few years. In fact the federal government has been running budget surpluses for each of the last ten years. A huge reversal from the deficits we were running well before that. A lot of this is commodity driven, so we can especially thank countries like China and India for it. Canadian exporters of manufactured goods won't be happy though. In my lifetime, I've seen the Canadian dollar "above" par with the U.S. dollar, and then come crashing down well below it. Nothing lasts forever, everything has it's season.

Edited by Taggart
Link to comment
Share on other sites

THe Canadian economy is in fairly good now. But in the next year or two it will reverse. Canadian exporters to the US are hurting because of the inflated loonie. The tourist industry is suffering badly because Americans are not coming because of the US dollar does not have the buying power it used to. Canadian consumers are making trips south of the border to snap up cheaper goods, causing retail to slow down in Canada.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

....Canadian consumers are making trips south of the border to snap up cheaper goods, causing retail to slow down in Canada.

Agree with you there.

A new BMO Nesbitt Burns study found that Canadians are paying as much as 23 per cent more for onsumer goods here than for identical items across the border.

Ahhh well, at least Thailand's still a bargain for Canadian tourists and expats. The 31+ Thai baht for each Canadian dollar beats the 17+ Thai baht we were getting in 1995.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

....Canadian consumers are making trips south of the border to snap up cheaper goods, causing retail to slow down in Canada.

Agree with you there.

A new BMO Nesbitt Burns study found that Canadians are paying as much as 23 per cent more for onsumer goods here than for identical items across the border.

Ahhh well, at least Thailand's still a bargain for Canadian tourists and expats. The 31+ Thai baht for each Canadian dollar beats the 17+ Thai baht we were getting in 1995.

"Cran says all anyone needs to do is look at the cost of cars in this country. Despite the strong dollar, most cars are still priced $3,000 to $5,000 more in Canada than for the same models in the U.S. When it comes to luxury cars the cost differential is in the tens-of-thousands of dollars, says Cran."

Maybe time to start buying used luxury cars in the US and driving them to Canada to sell.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

UPDATE 1-C$ hits par with greenback, first time since 1976

Thu Sep 20, 2007 10:36am ET

---------------------------------------------------------------------

In Thai currency:

1 Canadian Dollar = 31.13053 Thai Baht

For Canadian, Bangkok Bank is showing 33.11 to buy baht and 34.20 to sell baht. 31.1 has to be the offshore rate.

Hi Carmine,

That's the rate I was getting earlier at the oanda site. As of now, that same site is showing 31.6. Sorry for any discrepancy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have a shortage of labour and a robust resource and housing market right now. We can afford a bit of a slowdown actually. So far as tourism goes, we had hotels running at as low as 60% capacity this past summer because we couldn't find enough staff despite a 30% increase in average salaries and importing staff from Mexico.

Incidentally, France has the highest number of tourist arrivals in the world and the Euro and cost of living is far higher than the costs in Canada. We just have to lose the loser mentality we've had these past thirty years and start innovating and getting competitive rather than basing our whole economy around the lack of faith others had in our dollar. The world still needs our oil, gold, diamonds, and timber. Much of that was priced in US dollars in the first place.

So, enough loser talk from Canadians who as always see nothing but doom and gloom. Our dollar is strong (even up against the Pound, Euro, Au$, Yen), our economy is on fire, there's lots of work for everyone, Quebec nationalists are losing local byelections to a party headed by an Albertan, and the national debt is shrinking daily.

It hasn't looked this good in years. :o

Link to comment
Share on other sites

UPDATE 1-C$ hits par with greenback, first time since 1976

Thu Sep 20, 2007 10:36am ET

---------------------------------------------------------------------

In Thai currency:

1 Canadian Dollar = 31.13053 Thai Baht

For Canadian, Bangkok Bank is showing 33.11 to buy baht and 34.20 to sell baht. 31.1 has to be the offshore rate.

Hi Carmine,

That's the rate I was getting earlier at the oanda site. As of now, that same site is showing 31.6. Sorry for any discrepancy.

Yeah, Oanda, XE, Yahoo, etc. are quoting offshore. Up until late last year or early this year those were good sources since there was no onshore/offshore difference. I switched to the bank websites when I suddenly was getting 2 more baht per dollar than I was expecting.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have a shortage of labour and a robust resource and housing market right now. We can afford a bit of a slowdown actually. So far as tourism goes, we had hotels running at as low as 60% capacity this past summer because we couldn't find enough staff despite a 30% increase in average salaries and importing staff from Mexico.

Incidentally, France has the highest number of tourist arrivals in the world and the Euro and cost of living is far higher than the costs in Canada. We just have to lose the loser mentality we've had these past thirty years and start innovating and getting competitive rather than basing our whole economy around the lack of faith others had in our dollar. The world still needs our oil, gold, diamonds, and timber. Much of that was priced in US dollars in the first place.

So, enough loser talk from Canadians who as always see nothing but doom and gloom. Our dollar is strong (even up against the Pound, Euro, Au$, Yen), our economy is on fire, there's lots of work for everyone, Quebec nationalists are losing local byelections to a party headed by an Albertan, and the national debt is shrinking daily.

It hasn't looked this good in years. :o

I never heard any loser talk. Hoser talk, sure.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was nice to check the bank account yesterday and see a little profit (counting in baht of course).

People used to tell me that when I was a kid the Canadian dollar was at par with the US. It always came across as one of those good old days sort of tales like five cent Cokes or Chocolate bars. I hope this doesn't sound like gloating, it's just that we had to suffer about thirty years of Liberal economics. Even when the Conservatives got in they were basically carbon copies of the Reds. I guess we're getting to see what the upside of the curve looks like for a while. It's got be sunny every now and then - even in the Great White North.

Edited by canuckamuck
Link to comment
Share on other sites

People used to tell me that when I was a kid the Canadian dollar was at par with the US.

Oh well, now I feel old. I lived in Canada when I was a teenager (Dad got transferred there). I remember visiting family in the US and brought my Can$ with me, to exchange as needed. When I left Canada, the Can$ were quite a bit stronger than the USD. While I was in the US, Rene Levesque[sp?] of the seperatist Quebec party was elected for the first time, and the Can$ dropped to under 80 cents US almost immediately. :o

Edited by KhunG
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The US$ is worthless - backed only on trust. The Fed prints dollars by the trillion because they can - nothing to back them up.

Thats why GWs masters need a war (WWIII) - to hide the scam.

Gold is on its way up - see my previous posts.. And they laughed :o

You can say that about any fiat currency (that it's backed only on trust). Presently no national currency on earth is backed by gold nor any by other tangible asset.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK, this is bad. I used to think trips to Montreal and Vancouver were such a bargain.

Americans will really be in trouble when Canucks call our greenbacks "monopoly money".

What on earth will become of the phrase "the dollar is king!"

I think the phrase is more commonly now known as "the dollar is sinking!".

Canada is one of the nicest countries I've ever visited. I wonder how long before the Mexicans are crossing the US border on route to the next one in Canada?

:o

Edited by palm
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Don't look for the US government to do anything to strengthen the dollar. They are laughing up their sleeve because of the massive discount of foreign debt. They could care less and are also laughing at us affected ex pats who have deserted the country. Domestic made products are cheaper and imports are more expensive. I was born and raised in Ohio and remember when Canadian dollars were accepted at the exact same rate as US dollars. What goes around comes around.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

With parity reached, is this the time in history to finally make official Canada as America's 51th state?

Over Canada's history I'm sure there have been times when Canadians flirted with the idea. In 2002 around time when the Canadian $ hit a low of U.S.61.79 cents, there was a lot of talk about somehow linking up with the U.S. dollar. That's all cooled off now. It was only talk, nothing serious. Although the provinces sometimes have their disagreements, and we have our own set of problems unique to Canada, I think the majority of Canadians are happy and proud of our own independence.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Loonie closes above parity

Last Updated: Friday, September 28, 2007 | 5:18 PM ET

CBC News

The Canadian dollar closed above parity Friday for the first time in almost 31 years, as the U.S. greenback continued its dramatic fall against major world currencies.

According to Bank of Canada data, the loonie closed at $1.0052 US, up two-thirds of a cent from Thursday's close.

Expressed another way, it means that a U.S. dollar is now worth a little less than 99.5 cents in Canadian money.

The loonie had reached parity with the U.S. currency on Sept. 20 — the first time since November 1976 — but had failed to close at or above that level.

-------------------------------------------------

Since the start of the year, the loonie has gained 17 per cent against the U.S. dollar — more than any other major currency. The euro, for instance, has risen seven per cent against the greenback year-to-date, while the British pound and Japanese yen are both up about three per cent.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Globe & Mail

Buffett's speech at ROM draws out Toronto's rich

TARA PERKINS

October 12, 2007

"Asked whether now is the time for Canadians to buy U.S. dollars, the man known as "the Oracle of Omaha" said the United States has been spending $2-billion a day more on goods than it can afford to. Over time, that behaviour weakens the currency, he said. His guess is that, within the next five years, the Canadian dollar will appreciate even more against the U.S. dollar."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...