Canadian dollar

[happycamper1942]

After several years of heading down to the USA for a couple of months in the late winter, we have more or less decided we will not do it this year due to the poor exchange rate of the Canadian dollar. At the present time the US dollar will cost us over 40% more, making everything too expensive.
I'm curious about other Canadians take on this, are you thinking the same or have you bitten the bullet and are going down anyway?

[You_can_t_take_]

We're here in central Florida like we have been every year for the last 10 years. There are few bargains left with the current exchange rate so we are careful with our spending. The park we are at is usually full at this time every year but this year we have a 20% vacancy rate and some of the seasonals are not here so their investment is sitting idle. Florida will definitely feel the pinch of the lower exchange rate, but when I watch the weather back home I'm still happy to be here instead of up there!! Hope springs eternal for a better exchange rate next year!!

[joebedford]

I don't think your statement about capital gains on currency is correct.

[98Evo]

We decided to stay put this year and will head to BC in May. Next year we will rent a house or condo in Belize or Costa Rica. Today Regina is a balmy +4 snow is almost all melted.

[Durb]

When I bought my 5er I had a bumper tow that I needed to sell (25 ft. BigFoot). I found a buyer from BC that wanted the trailer in the worst way. We agreed on a price of $21,000. He called and had to cancel because after taxes and the exchange rate the trailer was $30,000 Canadian. This was March of last year; sounds like it has worsened since.

[pawatt]

Tom/Barb wrote:

Fizz wrote:

Do not turn this into a political debate!

Why not? politics is a fact of life and does effect our traveling/camping. Any civil debate should be allowed and those who can't be civil should be band.

If it continues to be political it will be closed or deleted. Please review the forum rules.

[moisheh]

John and Joey: You are using twisted logic. Why would you pick liquor to make a price comparison? Liqour in Canada is heavily taxed. This helps pay for our medical care. You state that you cannot come to Canada and vacation like a King. Why not. Thousands are flocking to BC hotels as we speak. If your problem is the price of liquor your priorities need to be addressed.

To those who are kicking their behinds that they did not sock away a bunch of USD: If you have a USA bank account and now are converting that back to CND: The increase in value is subject to Capital Gains. The Tax Man Taketh!

Moisheh

[Fizz]

Tom/Barb wrote:
I think the US should simply buy Canada while the price is right 🙂 That was a joke !

Why would we want to lower our standard of living.
It's not all about money.

[Tom_Barb]

Fizz wrote:

Do not turn this into a political debate!

Why not? politics is a fact of life and does effect our traveling/camping. Any civil debate should be allowed and those who can't be civil should be band.

[Tom_Barb]

I think the US should simply buy Canada while the price is right 🙂 That was a joke !

[Fizz]

justme wrote:
I would think people would be concerned as to why their currency is devalued against the US. And then demand their government do something about that. Canada has a lot going for it and the people should not have allowed their government to put them in that position. Government policy matters. In the US government policy is not acceptable and the folks are really "pissed" and will do something about it in the next election. I wonder if the Canadians are as mad as the US folks--

Do not turn this into a political debate!

[justme]

I would think people would be concerned as to why their currency is devalued against the US. And then demand their government do something about that. Canada has a lot going for it and the people should not have allowed their government to put them in that position. Government policy matters. In the US government policy is not acceptable and the folks are really "pissed" and will do something about it in the next election. I wonder if the Canadians are as mad as the US folks--

[Fizz]

TJ 1975 wrote:
Fellow Canadians. Don't think that by staying home you are insulated from the low Canadian dollar. Everything you buy in Canada that is imported from anywhere in the world is affected. When reaching for my wallet, I'd rather be getting it out of the back pocket of my shorts.

Only items produced and shipped from the States, mainly food.
It's not really a weak CND dollar it's a strong US$
This may vary with different countries but not many

[bjbear]

John&Joey wrote:
IMHO the dollars should have never been at par in the first place. You got spoiled with screaming US deals when oil was way overpriced at $120/barrel. As some would say "you thought the party would never end."

I disagree.... Currency rates and oil prices are based on perceptions and to some degree manipulation. If based on facts, the US and Canadian dollar would be close to par and oil would be somewhere in the $60 - $70 range.

I believe that Canadians and Americans are close cousins if not sisters/brothers. We should work toward moving our dollars back to par, then Canada should adopt the US dollar as our currency. The benefit to both our peoples would be almost unlimited. And I say Canada should adopt the US not because it is better, but because the US is by far the largest population and more importantly, the US dollar is a secondary currancy of choice in so many other countries around the world.

[Me_Again]

Having lived close the the canadian border all my life, I have seen the pendulum sway back and forth many times. The underlying issue is however that nothing has ever been cheaper item for item, beer, wine, booze, fuel, food, moorage for boat, sales/GST taxes on and on. Chris

[John_Joey]

IMHO the dollars should have never been at par in the first place. You got spoiled with screaming US deals when oil was way overpriced at $120/barrel. As some would say "you thought the party would never end." Those that knew it would end bought hard US assets or transferred larger sums of money into US cash taking advantage of the times.

I do think the Loonie should be stronger and the pendulum has swung a little too far because oil is now so cheap. The bottom line for me is I can not cross the boarder and vacation like a king in Canada, why do you think you can come here and do it? That says to me that the dollars are getting very close to each others true values. For those that are staying behind, you may want to consider that and plan accordingly. If you started snow birding when the dollars were at par, that lifestyle may never happen again.

Consider something so simple as the cost of a box of wine north and south of the border. In a fair market our dollars would buy the same amount of it regardless which side we were standing on after the exchange rate. What is it? $40Canadian vs $12US, if that is true, that box would now cost me $28.47 of my US money to Canadian. Doesn't seem very fair to me. :E