Oh Canada

I just returned from a trip to Canada and thought I would share my insight with you for a bit. Canada has for the most part escaped most of the credit turmoil in the United States. Its housing market is still very strong. Interestingly though, the Toronto Stock Exchange, the main index in Canada was also hit by the credit turmoil and took a beating.


In my 15 years going to Canada the American dollar has never been weaker. Ten years ago it was .65 Canadian cents to the American dollar. It is now $.95. This means of course, that I have become 40% poorer relative to a Canadian over the last 3 years.

Canada is a commodity economy. It exports vasts amounts of energy and natural resources - cold, copper, lumber, etc. Since I don't see the price of energy dropping any time soon, or the demand for commodities (see India and China) its economic future looks pretty bright.

Will the Candian dollar go to parity against the dollar? I don't know but I wouldn't bet against it.