Canadian dollar: a brief history and general description of the currency. History and prospects of the Canadian currency Monetary unit in Canada

Throughout the history of Canada, the national currency of the state has been dollars and reals. Currently, Canada's money is called Canadian dollars.

Canada's first money

For a long time, the country of maple leaves was a colony of the Spanish Empire. Due to the large number of colonies, the Imperials began to issue money for them. The first currency on the territory of the state was Spanish dollars (reals). This currency should not be confused with the rial, which is the currency used in some countries in the Middle East.

The Real had a great influence on the formation of the monetary system not only of Canada, but also of all the colonies of the Spanish Empire. Not all countries, unlike Canada, have abandoned the use of Spanish currency. For example, now in Brazil the real is the national currency.

Gold dollars

Unlike the first money in Canada, gold dollars were not imposed on the state from the outside. In the middle of the 19th century, the government decided to introduce its own currency, which was called the gold dollar. Its value was equal to one United States dollar.

1 such dollar consisted of five shillings. Shillings were used in many Western European countries. They came to Canada from England, where they were first minted at the beginning of the 16th century by order of King Henry VII.

New France and new money

Canada was considered part of France until 1763. Its regions were part of the French colonies, which were called New France. These were the territories of the modern shores of the Great Lakes, as well as the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario.

During this period, Canada's money was colloquially called piastres. Canadians pronounced this word "pyaso". In everyday life, residents called Canadian cents “su”. In this way they paid tribute to the traditional names of currencies in all the colonies of France.

Types of money in Canada: banknotes

Over time, chartered banks decided to issue Canadian dollars. In 1866, the provincial government of Canada did the same, and eventually the confederation government did the same. Over time, the old money of Canada from 1896, on which the country's first prime minister was depicted, went out of use.

Founding of the Bank of Canada

The main bank of the state was created in 1935. It became the main issuer of money throughout the country. Since its founding, it began issuing paper money in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 25, 50, 100 and 1000 dollars. Nine years later, it was decided to ban authorized banks from issuing their own currency. Currently, Canadian paper money does not come in $1 or $2 denominations.

The Central Bank building is located in the city of Ottawa. The president of the institution is Stephen Poloz. At the moment, the bank has the following goals:

keeping inflation low;
management of state funds and its debt obligations;
maintaining the purchasing power of the Canadian dollar;
use of monetary policy;
release and distribution of funds;
control over the refinancing rate;
issue of government savings certificates;
maintaining financial stability.

Since the creation of the Central Bank, Canada's money has changed significantly in design. From 1937 to 1986, the Canadian government introduced new series of banknotes four times. And 6 years ago the transition to polymer money began.

Polymer money

This type of money consists of signs made of polymer materials. They have a higher value compared to paper banknotes. But the difference in cost is compensated by a longer service life. Plastic money can be used for up to five years.

A long period of operation of such banknotes is achieved due to the fact that the new material does not absorb water, moisture and dirt. This ability allows them to remain clean. Plastic money has received new anti-counterfeit measures that cannot be used on paper banknotes.

In addition to Canada, the entire banknote series consists only of polymer banknotes in several other countries:

Australia;
New Zealand;
Romania;
Papua New Guinea;
Maldives;
Vietnam;
Brunei;
Kiribati;
Nauru;
Tuvalu;
Singapore

Even though these states have switched to plastic banknotes, paper bills are still legal tender.

Canada plastic money

2011 was a turning point in the history of Canadian money. The Central Bank of the state began issuing plastic money. In 2011, the Central Bank launched the first polymer banknote into circulation. It became a hundred dollar bill with the image of Robert Borden (the eighth Prime Minister of the state, was the head of government from 1911 to 1920).

Three months later, another polymer banknote was issued, a fifty-dollar bill featuring William Lyon Mackenzie King. At the end of autumn 2012, a 20 Canadian dollar banknote was released, and on it was the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Elizabeth II.

Towards the end of 2013, the Central Bank of Canada issued a five-dollar bill featuring Wilfrid Laurier and a ten-dollar bill featuring John A. Macdonald. Currently, Canadian money is printed by two companies: BA International and the Canadian Bank Note Company. These enterprises signed a contract with the Canadian Central Bank. Photos of Canadian money are posted on the official web pages of the Main Bank and banknote printing companies.

To make it absolutely impossible to create counterfeits, two transparent “windows” were used in the process of making Canadian dollars. One of them is inscribed in the overall composition of the bill, and the second such “window” is made in the shape of a maple leaf. After the release of polymer banknotes, the question of which Canadian money is the most beautiful in history has disappeared.

Canadian and American dollars

Due to the fact that Canada and the United States of America are located next to each other, the monetary unit of the maple leaf country has always been influenced by the American national currency. The state itself is also closely connected with the US economy.

Since the beginning of the last century, Canada's economy has been characterized by cyclical fluctuations. During this period, the Canadian dollar was sometimes more expensive than the American dollar, and then fell in price again. Over the past 50 years, the Canadian national currency was more expensive than the US dollar from 1971 to 1974, as well as in 1976. From 1976 to 1986, the value of Canada's national currency fell rapidly and almost reached 70 cents per 1 Canadian dollar. Then the situation improved a little. By 1990, 1 dollar was worth almost 90 American cents. Then the value of the currency began to decline again.

The Canadian dollar reached its historical minimum at the beginning of 2001 - 62 American cents. Over the past 15 years, the dollar exchange rate has been unstable, but there is a visible tendency towards an increase in value. As of July 1, 2017, for 1 thousand Canadian dollars you can get 4 thousand 572 rubles, 2008 hryvnia 65 kopecks, 77 US dollars 19 cents or 67.64 euros.

Despite the fact that many economists consider a fixed exchange rate more preferable for the country's economy, the Canadian government decided to introduce a floating exchange rate regime. It assumes the possibility of changing the value of the national currency based on fluctuations occurring in the foreign exchange market.

It should be noted that there is a theory of the impossible trinity, according to which the government is not capable of maintaining a fixed exchange rate, an independent monetary policy and the free rotation of capital at the same time. You need to choose two out of three points. This hypothesis was called the Mundell-Fleming Model because its rationale was outlined by two economists: Robert Mundell and Marcus Fleming.

Sending money to Canada

Many citizens of the Russian Federation, Ukraine and other countries of the former USSR live on the territory of this North American state. In connection with these, Russians and residents of other countries who are in their homeland are actively looking for ways to send money to Canada to their recently moved relatives or friends.

There are many ways to make a translation. Of course, the simplest and most common option is a bank transfer. But situations may arise when the recipient is not able to withdraw funds sent to him. In such cases, you can use the services of special companies that specialize in money transfers to anywhere in the world.

The disadvantage of this method of transferring money is that the sender must know the exact details of the recipient, which is not always possible. In any case, there are many options for transferring funds. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, but nothing is perfect. Somewhere the commission is higher, but the money will be transferred faster.

Often the size of the commission depends on the amount of the transfer and the country to which it needs to be made. Companies can also set limits on the amounts sent. In any case, due to the large number of companies specializing in money transfers, finding the right one will not be difficult.

It is impossible to overestimate the importance of the world's major currencies in maintaining stability and ensuring sustainable development of the global financial system. Currencies such as the American dollar, euro, and Japanese yen are indispensable instruments in global economic activity. These currencies are used when concluding most global contracts, they are used as reserve currencies to stabilize the national economy, and they are used to carry out most transactions on the interbank Forex market. But often these three currencies are monetary units, like China, Australia and Switzerland. It is especially worth noting that Canada's national currency, the Canadian dollar (symbol CAD), enjoys stable popularity. One Canadian dollar is equal to 100 cents.

1 Canadian dollar bill

The history of monetary circulation in Canada is inextricably linked with its colonial past. Even before English and French colonization, the first settlers in Canada were the Icelandic Vikings, led in 990 by Leif Erikson. However, the few Normans were unable to establish long-term settlements, and Canada was soon lost to Europeans for the next five centuries.

Canadian dollar exchange rate today:

Everything changed in 1534, when the French Jacques Cartier made the first expedition to the shores of the St. Lawrence River and the bay of the same name. Having examined the coastal territory, Cartier moved inland where at the mouth of the river he erected a memorial cross in honor of King Francis I, thereby declaring the new lands the property of France. Due to the underdevelopment of the local Indian population, the first trade relations with the natives took place in the form of simple exchange. The skins of wild animals were exchanged for simple household utensils of European life. But the beginning of colonization was laid and the development of early wild lands predetermined the complication of economic life and the need to introduce monetary circulation. For some time, silver coins were minted in limited quantities in France specifically for the new colony, but they were not widely used.

One hundred Canadian dollar banknote

As a result of the loss in the Seven Years' War, French colonial lands were ceded to Britain. The adoption of the gold standard by Great Britain in 1825 required the introduction of the official currency of the Canadian province. It became the British pound sterling - the future Canadian dollar. But given the complex and multinational history of the formation of the province, it is not surprising that, along with the pound sterling, the currencies of other countries were widely used in Canada. Barter trade with the primitive Indian population, in general, did not require monetary relations.

Canadian dollar coin (silver)

Modern value of the Canadian dollar

In 1841, a significant event occurred: the British Empire introduced its own currency in the Canadian province - the Canadian pound. This currency was the prototype of the Canadian dollar. The value of the new monetary unit was equal to the value of the US dollar. And only later (in 1857) the modern Canadian dollar was introduced into monetary circulation. Like its predecessor, the pound, the Canadian dollar was backed by gold, with the value of one dollar being equal to 23.22 granules of gold. Despite the official status of the dollar, some provinces continued to circulate local currencies until 1871, when the Canadian government issued an act to unify the currency. Until 1933, the Canadian dollar was gold-backed, allowing banknotes to be freely exchanged for gold. In 1970, the CAD switched to floating.

Popular currency pairs on Forex:

USD/CAD;
EUR/CAD;
GBP/CAD;
CAD/JPY;
CHF/CAD.

20 Canadian dollar bill

The success of the Canadian dollar in the global financial system is largely due to the competent financial and economic policies of the Canadian government, as well as the special geographical location of Canada. Good relations and deep trade ties with the leader of the global system, the United States, guaranteed Canada stable economic development and, consequently, high stability of the national currency. Canada is the main supplier of resources to the United States, such as oil, uranium and electricity, among others, which explains the dependence of the Canadian dollar on global energy prices and the pace of world economic development. But the Canadian dollar is offsetting its dependence on energy prices with Canada's expanded trade cooperation with the United States.

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If you're preparing to move to Canada, you might want to do some more research on the country's currency. After all, everything is not as simple as one might assume.

What banknote denominations are there in Canada?

Canada's currency is the Canadian dollar (CAD), and there are several bills in circulation in denominations of $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100. By the way, the latter smells like maple syrup - in what other country is this possible? There are also coins - the list of coin denominations includes 1 and 2 dollars, as well as 25, 10, 5 cents. Since 2014, prices have been rounded to the nearest 5 cents, a subtlety worth noting. If you have one-cent coins, you won't be able to use them in business. Better keep it as a souvenir.

What features does Canadian money have?

Since 2011, Canada has had a decree replacing paper banknotes with plastic ones. This helps fight counterfeiters. Some residents of the country complain: they say that the new banknotes are inconvenient to store because they do not always fold well in a wallet. However, such difficulties are nothing compared to the high degree of security of Canadian banknotes against counterfeiting. And Canadian banknotes are multi-colored.

Do I need to change all my money to Canadian dollars?

If you think that before traveling to Canada you urgently need to change money and as much as possible, we hasten to reassure you. The most convenient way to bring money into Canada is in cashless form. Cards are accepted almost everywhere here. In addition, in any city there are ATMs and exchange offices. Starting right from the airport, you can change your money at any time.

It is the monetary unit of Canada and since 2011 has been in seventh place on the list of the most traded currencies in the world, accounting for 5.3% of the world's daily trade turnover. This unit is abbreviated as preceded by the letter C - C$.

The history of the appearance of this money is as follows. In April 1871, the Canadian Parliament passed the Uniform Currency Act. He replaced the currencies of the various provinces of the country with a single system - the Canadian dollar. By the outbreak of World War II, the exchange rate to the US dollar was set at C$1.10 = US$1.00. After some time, this quote was changed, and the value of the monetary units was equal. In 1950, the Canadian dollar was “released.” The re-fixing occurred only in 1962 at the level of C $ 1.00 = US $ 0.925, and it existed until 1970, after which the value of the currency again became free, remaining so to the present day.

Today, the Canadian dollar is issued in the form of coins and banknotes. The first are produced by the Royal Canadian Mint in Winnipeg, and are currently found in denominations of 5, 10, 25, and 50 cents, as well as one and two dollars. Previously, there was a coin in a denomination whose production was discontinued on February 4, 2013. From now on, amounts for cash payments can be rounded to the nearest five cents, despite the fact that the cent continues to be legal tender.

The external design of the coins, as a rule, has Canadian symbols (usually representatives of the animal or plant world) on the reverse side and a portrait of Elizabeth II on the front. However, some cents that remain in circulation from earlier times are distinguished by their portrait. Fifty-cent coins are quite rare in circulation and are often collected by collectors.

On July 3, 1934, a single financial institution uniting ten financial institutions was founded. Since that time, the release of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 25, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 dollars began. Significant changes in banknote design occurred in 1935, then new series were introduced in 1937, 1954, 1970, 1986 and 2001. In June 2011, the Canadian dollar received a new design and began to be produced on a polymer basis, unlike the previously common cotton fiber.

As already noted, this currency has repeatedly had both free and fixed exchange rates. The value of this currency fell after 1960, which was also associated with the election of the Prime Minister in 1963. After free pricing was allowed in 1970, there was a positive impact on the Canadian dollar: the rate began to rise to $1.0443.

Subsequently, the record low cost of this unit was recorded at the beginning of the 2000s and amounted to only $0.6179. This was due to the technological "boom" that was centered in the From this time on, the currency began to gradually rise, and this was due to the ever-increasing prices of raw materials exported from Canada (mainly oil). Today the quote is as follows: 1.0356 to the US dollar, Canadian dollar to the ruble - 0.032. Can be found in other values as the value is constantly changing.

If you are heading to Canada, it will be very useful to know a little about the money you will use there. Canada's currency is the Canadian dollar (CAD) and its value is not far from the leading currencies of the world. Somewhere before 2009, the American and Canadian dollars were almost on par. The Canadian dollar either rose slightly in price or fell slightly in price relative to the American one. This equivalence contrasts with the situation in the 80s and 90s, when the Canadian dollar was significantly cheaper than the American dollar, which allowed Americans to profitably shop in Canada with their own money. Today, 1 Canadian dollar is equal to 70 American cents, which is very unprofitable.

Now directly about banknotes. Canadian bills are available in the following denominations: $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 (by the way, the $100 bill smells like maple syrup). The $1 and $2 bills were replaced by coins, which many today prefer to call "loonie" and "toonie" respectively in everyday conversation.

Banknotes in Canada are of different, bright colors. This makes it easy to distinguish denominations from each other. Not like our neighbors to the south with their green and white dollars. Canadians are even proud that their money, like beer (again, in their opinion), is an order of magnitude better than its American counterparts.

The list of denominations of Canadian coins includes 1 and 2 dollars, as well as 25, 10, 5 cents. Since 2014, prices have been rounded up to the nearest 5 cents, and the one-cent piece has been phased out, so find yourself a few as souvenirs.

Beginning in 2011, by order of the federal government, paper banknotes in Canada began to be replaced with plastic ones in order to prevent the activities of counterfeiters. Sometimes, however, problems may arise with them in the form of sticking in a wallet or insufficient flexibility to bend, but these are minor things.

The best way to bring funds to Canada

Debit and credit cards are widely accepted in Canada, which makes it easy to find an ATM in many cities, so you don't have to carry a ton of cash. Be that as it may, it is worth having some cash in your pocket so that you have something to tip the waiter or pay for some small purchase. You can read about the details of using debit and credit cards in Canada.

Currency exchange

Foreign currencies can be easily exchanged for Canadian dollars directly at the airport, at border crossings, in major shopping centers and banks. Many places (especially those popular with tourists) near the US-Canada border accept American dollars, but the exchange rate varies markedly, making banks a much better choice. Debit and credit cards opened overseas can be used to make purchases and withdraw money (Canadian dollars) within Canada, but again, the currency price will depend on your bank.

Below is a list of some daily costs in Canada (2015):

Cup of coffee (Tim Hortons): $1.60 – $2.70
Cup of coffee (Starbucks): $2 – $7 or more
Parking in the center of a large city: about $8 - $15 per hour or $25 - $40 per day.
24-pack of beer: $40 – $60
Glass of wine at a bar/restaurant: $6 – $18