Canadian Dollar - CAD

The Canadian Dollar (CAD) is Canada’s official currency since 1858, when the Province of Canada (as a Confederation of different territories) declared the equivalence of the Canadian Dollar and the American Dollar. In an independence movement with the United Kingdom, Canada finally had a Constitution in the year of 1982 (the Queen of England remained Queen of Canada).

Nicknamed « Loonie » in reference to the seabird struck on the back of the coins, the Canadian Dollar has been linked to the American Dollar – 85% of the Canadian exports are going to the United States, and 60% of the Canadian imports are from the United States.

Today, 7th more exchanged currency in the world (4 to 5% of the 200% of the annual currency purchases and sales on the Forex), the Canadian Dollar has had since the 70s (and the establishment of the floating exchange rate regime- that had been the Canadian Dollar’s one against the other currencies from 1952 to 1960), the reserve currency status for the main Central Banks of all the North and South American continental area.

The Canadian Dollar’s value really depends on the raw material price (Canada is an important oil exporter) and the Bank of Canada (the only which can issue coins and notes since 1935) in general refuses (it has been clear since 1998) to intervene on the foreign exchange market (Forex) to make this value change against the other currencies (the only aim is to maintain the inflation under 3%).

Sharply depreciating against the American Dollar from 1974 (1 CAD = 1.04 USD) to 1985, the Canadian Dollar apprised again until 1991 after the Plaza Agreements, then it slowly but surely depreciated again until 2002 (1 CAD = 0.62 USD in January 2002) in a booming context specifically American on new technologies.

From 2002 to 2007, the Canadian Dollar rises again (increase of the raw material price) to reach again in 2007 the parity with the American Dollar for the first time since 1976, before decreasing again from 2008.