How Well Does The Canadian Dollar Travel Elsewhere?
Posted November 5, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Long lines at the border, spending power in your wallet and a glee to buy, buy, buy while the price is right. Welcome to the world of the Canadian loonie in 2007, as it flies Icarus-like closer to the glowing financial sun. If you know your Greek mythology, you’ll know that famous legend flew too close to Ol’ Sol. He had his wax wings melt and he crashed.
The dollar shows no signs of doing that anytime soon, closing at 107.18 U.S. cents – up 14 cents and another record high. That news has sent thousands of Canadians streaming to the border, looking for bargains down south in advance of the holiday season. And travel agents are being swamped with early winter vacation bookings, as the good times roll.
But what happens if you’re looking to go somewhere other than America? Does our mighty dollar have the same super strength in other places around the world or are there some kryptonite-like dangers lurking outside of North America?
“The common denominator around the world is the fallen U.S. dollar so virtually all currencies are rising against the U.S. dollar,” confirms TD Bank Chief Economist Don Drummond. “But Canada is at the top of the pile.”
That has travellers contemplating their future destinations. “Since our dollar’s going high, you know, that absolutely will factor into how much I’m willing to spend and the prices I’m looking at and where I’m looking to get my vacation from,” agrees would-be passenger Laura Echeveria.
But while we’re ahead of the U.S., we’re still far behind other currencies. Buy a British pound and it will set you back $1.94. Stock up on Euros and you’ll have to shell out $1.35 for each one you get. Still, that’s a lot better than it used to be. The Canuck buck has gained seven cents over the last few months in Britain and we’re up nine cents versus the Euro.
But it doesn’t make much difference to some veteran travellers. “It’s not going to affect the way I spend because six months ago I was paying $1.69 for a Euro,” relates a traveller named Marcie.
All that might stop you from heading across the pond, but you’ll do really well if you head to places like Brazil, Australia or New Zealand. And those hits could keep on coming. Analysts say our dollar isn’t done yet and predict it could go as high as $1.10 before – like Icarus – the sun’s heat finally reaches it.
To compare the Canadian dollar to other currencies, click here.
To see the exchange rate of any currency over another, click here.
