Information about C$

Canadian dollar dollar canadien (French)
Fifty dollar note One dollar coin Fifty dollar note One dollar coin
ISO 4217 Code	CAD
User(s)	Canada
Inflation	2%
Source	[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2092.html The World Factbook], 2006 est.
Subunit
1/100	cent (English) and (French)
Symbol	$ or C$
cent (English) and (French)	¢
Nickname	loonie, buck (English) piastre, huard (French)
cent (English) and (French)	penny (English) sou (French)
Coins''
Freq. used	1¢, 5¢, 10¢, 25¢, $1, $2
Rarely used	50¢
Banknotes''
Freq. used	$5, $10, $20, $50
Rarely used	$100
Central bank	Bank of Canada
Website	www.bankofcanada.ca
Printer	Canadian Bank Note Company, BA International Inc.
Mint	Royal Canadian Mint
Website	www.mint.ca

The Canadian dollar (currency code CAD) has been the currency of Canada since 1858. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies.^[1] It is divided into 100 cents. The Canadian dollar is the monetary basis for the Canadian economy, with all coins minted by the Royal Canadian Mint and all banknotes printed by the Canadian Bank Note Company and BA International Inc on behalf of the Bank of Canada.

History

Spanish dollar

The first dollars used in Canada were Spanish dollars: eight reales coins issued by Spain and its colonies. Because the colonies used the £sd system for accounting (see Canadian pound), it was necessary to set a valuation or rating for the Spanish dollar in £sd. Different ratings were used in the different colonies. The Halifax rating was introduced c.1750 and was the most commonly used in the northern colonies. It valued the Spanish dollar at 5 shillings (the value of the silver in the coin was equal to 4 shillings 6 pence, the "London rating").

After the American War of Independence, United Empire Loyalists, settling in Upper Canada (Ontario), brought the York rating (named after York, England]) of 1 Spanish dollar = 8 shillings. This was officially outlawed (in favour of the Halifax rating) in 1796 but continued to be used well into the 19th century.

During this period, many local banknotes were issued denominated in £sd, dollars, or both. The Bank of Montreal issued notes denominated in dollars in 1817, whereas the Atlantic colonies, with stronger ties to Britain and weaker ones to the United States, preferred the £sd system. Some dollar denominated banknotes bore a depiction of the Spanish dollar coin(s) they were equal to. However, few coins were issued, as the British authorities were unwilling to allow the colonies to mint their own coins. Various bank tokens were issued in denominations of ½ and 1 penny.

In the French speaking parts of Canada (Lower Canada, formerly New France, later Quebec), the £sd and dollar system swiftly replaced the livre following the conquest by Britain. The main unit of currency was called the piastre on some French language banknotes, and the word survives in French-Canadian vernacular as an alternative for "dollar". Some bank tokens were issued in denominations of 1 and 2 sous, equal to ½ and 1 penny.

Gold dollar

In 1841, the new Province of Canada declared that its dollar was equal to the gold U.S. dollar and was worth 5 shillings. The silver Spanish dollars were rated at 5 shillings 1 penny, and the British sovereign was rated at 1 pound 4 shillings 4 pence, the proper value due to its gold content compared to that of the gold U.S. dollar.

Independent Canadian dollar

The Province of Canada declared that all accounts would be kept in dollars and cents as of January 1, 1858, and ordered the issue of the first official Canadian coins in the same year. The colonies that came together in the Canadian Confederation progressively adopted a decimal system over the next few years. When New Brunswick adopted a dollar equivalent to the Canadian dollar (see New Brunswick dollar), Nova Scotia and Newfoundland did not adopt the same dollar (see Nova Scotian dollar and Newfoundland dollar). Nova Scotia retained its own currency until 1871, but Newfoundland issued its own currency until joining Confederation in 1949.

Finally, the Federal Parliament passed the Uniform Currency Act in April 1871, tying up loose ends as to the currencies of the various provinces and replacing them with a common Canadian dollar. The gold standard was temporarily abandoned during World War I, and definitively abolished on April 10, 1933.

Prior to the establishment of the Bank of Canada in 1935, Canadian banknotes were issued primarily by chartered banks, with the federal government issuing banknotes in smaller denominations never to exceed five dollars.

Reserve currency

A number of central banks keep Canadian dollars as a reserve currency. The Canadian dollar is considered to be a benchmark currency.^[2]

Coins

Main article: Coins of the Canadian dollar

Coins are minted by the Royal Canadian Mint in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and currently issued in denominations of 1¢ (penny), 5¢ (nickel), 10¢ (dime), 25¢ (quarter), 50¢ (50 cent piece) (though the 50 cent piece is rarely used), $1 (loonie), and $2 (toonie). The standard set of faces has Canadian symbols, usually wildlife, on the reverse, and an effigy of Elizabeth II on the obverse. However, some pennies, nickels, and dimes remain in circulation that have an effigy of George VI instead of Elizabeth II. Commemorative coins with differing reverses are also issued on an irregular basis. 50 cent coins are rarely found in circulation; they are often collected and not regularly used in day-to-day transactions. There have been repeated talks about getting rid of the penny as it is estimated that it costs the Royal Canadian Mint up to four cents to produce and distribute a one-cent coin.^[3] The Canadian penny costs at least C$130 million annually to keep in circulation, estimates a financial institution that called for an end to the penny.^[4] A 2007 survey shows that only 37 percent of Canadians use pennies, but the government continues to produce about 816 million pennies per year, equal to 25 pennies per Canadian.^[4]

Banknotes

Main article: Banknotes of the Canadian dollar

Canadian banknotes are currently issued in $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100 denominations. All notes are identical in size(155 X 70 mm), but each denomination has a different predominant colour: $5 is blue; $10 is purple; $20 is green; $50 is red, and $100 is brown.

Each banknote features a portrait of a different figure important to Canada's history:

• $5 bill: Wilfrid Laurier Canada's first French-Canadian Prime Minister, also created the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan
• $10: John A. MacDonald first Prime Minister of Canada
• $20: Queen Elizabeth II queen of Canada since 1952
• $50: William Lyon Mackenzie King Prime Minister during World War II and Canada's longest serving Prime Minister
• $100: Robert Laird Borden Prime Minister during World War I

Since late 2006, all new notes have a full set of modern security features, including a holographic strip, watermark, and other factors. They are issued by the Bank of Canada.

Terminology

Canadian English, like American English, uses the slang term "buck" for a dollar. Because of the appearance of the common loon on the back of the dollar coin which replaced the dollar bill in 1987, the word "loonie" was adopted in Canadian parlance to distinguish the Canadian dollar from other currencies, as in "The loonie performed well today on currency markets". When the two-dollar coin was introduced in 1996, the derivative word "toonie" became the common word for it in Canadian English slang.

In French, the currency is also called le dollar; Canadian French slang terms include piastre or piasse (same as "buck," but the original word used in eighteenth-century French to translate "dollar") and huard (equivalent to "loonie", since huard is French for "loon," the bird appearing on the coin). The French pronunciation cent (pronounced cenne, not like the word for hundred) is generally used for the subdivision; sou is another, informal term.

Value

Inflation in the value of the Canadian dollar has been fairly low since the 1990s, but had been severe for some decades before that.

Since 84.2% of Canada's exports go to the United States, and 56.7% of imports into Canada come from the United States,^[5] Canadians are mainly interested in the value of their currency against the United States dollar (USD).

Unlike other currencies in the Bretton Woods system whose values were fixed, the Canadian dollar was allowed to float from 1950 to 1962. From 1952 to 1960, the Canadian dollar traded at a slight premium over the U.S. dollar, reaching a high of US$1.0614 on August 20, 1957 (the all-time high of US$2.78 was reached on July 11, 1864 after the United States had temporarily abandoned the gold standard).

The Canadian dollar fell considerably after 1960, and this contributed to Prime Minister John Diefenbaker's defeat in the 1963 election. The Canadian dollar returned to a fixed exchange rate regime in 1962 when its value was set at about US$0.925, where it remained until 1970. As an inflation-fighting measure, the Canadian dollar was allowed to float in 1970. Its value appreciated and it was worth more than the U.S. dollar for part of the 1970s. The high point was on April 25, 1974, when it reached US$1.0443.

The Canadian dollar fell in value against its American counterpart during the technological boom of the 1990s that was centred on the United States, and was traded for as little as 61.79 cents U.S. on January 21, 2002, which was an all-time low. ^[6] Since then, its value against all major currencies has risen due, in part, to high prices for commodities (especially oil) that Canada exports. Its value against the U.S. dollar rose sharply in 2007 due to the continued strength of the Canadian economy, and to the U.S. currency's recent weakness on world markets. During trading on September 20, 2007 it met the U.S. greenback at parity for the first time since November 25, 1976 .^[7] On September 28, 2007, the Canadian dollar closed above the U.S. dollar for the first time in 30 years, trading at US$1.0052,^[8] and on October 19, it hit US$1.0380, a 33 year high.^[9]

On world markets, the Canadian dollar historically tended to move in tandem with the U.S. dollar, but less dramatically. A consequence is that at times an apparently rising Canadian dollar is often falling against most of the world's currencies, and vice-versa. However, during the relatively sharp rise of the Canadian dollar since 2002, it has "parted ways" with the U.S. dollar and has gained value against it, while also rising against other major international currencies.

Although there was a great deal of domestic concern when the Canadian dollar was trading much lower than the U.S. dollar, there is also concern among exporters when the dollar appreciates quickly. The rapid rise in the value of the Canadian dollar increases the price of Canadian exports to the United States, which make up a large part of the economy. On the other hand, Canadian industry enjoys advantages from a rising dollar, primarily in that it is cheaper to purchase foreign material and businesses. The Bank of Canada has no specific target value for the Canadian dollar and has not intervened in foreign exchange markets since 1998.^[10] The Bank's current position is that market conditions should determine the worth of the Canadian dollar.

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See also

• Economy of Canada

References

External links

Official websites

• Exchange Rate Lookup
• A History of the Canadian dollar
• Bank of Canada — bank notes
• Royal Canadian Mint
• History of the earliest forms currency in Canada

Fan sites

• Canadian Paper Money A resource for those interested in learning about and collecting Canadian paper currency
• Don's World Coin Gallery - Canada* Ron Wise's World Paper Money - Canada ^{Mirror site}* The Global History of Currencies - Canada* Global Financial Data data series - Canada Dollar* Global Financial Data currency histories table ( Microsoft Excel format)
• Banknotes of Canada at Will's Online World Paper Money Gallery
• Maple Leaf Web: The Canadian Dollar: Nature and Impacts of Canadian Exchange Rates
• Currency exchange calculator for the Canadian Dollar (CAD)

•  • [ e] Canadian banknotes and coins
Canadian coinage	1 (penny) 5 (nickel) 10 (dime) 25 (quarter) 50 $1 (loonie) $2 (toonie) Canadian silver dollar
Commemorative coins	Royal Canadian Mint numismatic coins Royal Canadian Mint Numismatic Coins (2000's) Royal Canadian Mint Hockey Coins Royal Canadian Mint Olympic coins Royal Canadian Mint RCMP coins Gold Maple Leaf Silver Maple Leaf Platinum Maple Leaf Ottawa Mint sovereigns Voyageur dollar
Canadian banknotes	$5 $10 $20 $50 $100 Withdrawn banknotes
Historical currencies of Canada	New France livre Canadian pound Nova Scotian dollar New Brunswick dollar Vancouver Island and British Columbia dollar Early Canadian banking system
Newfoundland dollar	1 5 10 20 25 50 Coins of the Newfoundland dollar
Organizations and institutions	Bank of Canada Canadian Bank Note Company Canadian Numismatic Association Canadian Numismatic Association medals and awards Canadian Paper Money Society Bank of Canada Currency Museum Royal Canadian Mint
Community currencies	Calgary dollar Toronto dollar Canadian Tire money
Other	Canadian dollar History of Canadian currency List of people on coins of Canada List of foreign countries with coinage struck at the Royal Canadian Mint

•  • [ e] Currencies named dollar or similar
Circulating	Australian dollar Bahamian dollar Barbadian dollar Belize dollar Bermudian dollar Brunei dollar Canadian dollar Cayman Islands dollar Cook Islands dollar East Caribbean dollar Fijian dollar Guyanese dollar Hong Kong dollar Jamaican dollar Kiribati dollar Liberian dollar Namibian dollar New Zealand dollar Samoan tala Singapore dollar (dolar, வெள்ளி) Solomon Islands dollar Surinamese dollar New Taiwan dollar Trinidad and Tobago dollar United States dollar Zimbabwean dollar
Circulating, formerly a.k.a. dollar	Malaysian dollar
Obsolete	Antigua dollar British North Borneo dollar British West Indies dollar Ceylonese rixdollar Confederate States of America dollar Continental dollar Danish rigsdaler Danish West Indian daler (dollar) Danish West Indian rigsdaler Dominican dollar Dutch rijksdaalder Greenlandic rigsdaler Grenadan dollar Hawaiian dollar (dala) Kiautschou dollar Malaya and British Borneo dollar Malayan dollar Mauritian dollar Mongolian dollar Nevisian dollar New Brunswick dollar Newfoundland dollar Norwegian rigsdaler Norwegian speciedaler Nova Scotian dollar Penang dollar Puerto Rican dollar Rhodesian dollar Saint Kitts dollar Saint Lucia dollar Saint Vincent dollar Sarawak dollar Sierra Leonean dollar Slovenian tolar Spanish dollar Straits dollar Sumatran dollar Swedish riksdaler Old Taiwan dollar Texan dollar Trinidadian dollar Tobagan dollar Tuvaluan dollar
Obsolete, a.k.a. dollar	Chinese yuan Ethiopian birr
Conceptual	Eurodollar International dollar Petrodollar Geary-Khamis dollar
Virtual	Linden dollar
Fictional	Dollarpound
Private	Antarctican dollar Calgary dollar Disney dollar Liberty dollar Toronto dollar Millennium Dollar
See also	Dollar sign Holey dollar Thaler $1

•  • [ e] Currencies of the Americas
North America	Canadian dollar Danish krone (Greenland) Euro (Saint-Pierre et Miquelon) U.S. dollar Mexican peso
Central America	Belize dollar Costa Rican coln Guatemalan quetzal Honduran lempira Nicaraguan crdoba Panamanian balboa U.S. dollar (El Salvador)
Caribbean	Aruban florin Bahamian dollar Barbadian dollar Bermudian dollar Cayman Islands dollar Cuban peso Cuban convertible peso Dominican peso East Caribbean dollar(Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) Euro (Guadeloupe, Martinique) Haitian gourde Jamaican dollar Netherlands Antillean gulden Trinidad and Tobago dollar U.S. dollar(British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Turks and Caicos Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands)
South America	Argentine peso Bolivian boliviano Brazilian real Chilean peso Colombian peso Euro (French Guiana) Falkland Islands pound Guyanese dollar Paraguayan guaran Peruvian nuevo sol Surinamese dollar U.S. dollar (Ecuador) Uruguayan peso Venezuelan bolvar

•  • [ e]       Topics in Canada
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