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October 28, 2011

Amritsar to join Green Pilgrim Cities Network

Chandigarh, October 28
Amritsar will formally join the Green Pilgrim Cities Network, the first global network aimed at greening pilgrimage to be launched in Assisi, Italy, from October 31 to November 2. The event is organised by the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC) in association with WWF and it will be chaired by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Elizabeth’s husband.
The network will help the faiths make their holy cities and sacred sites as environmentally sustainable as possible according to their own theologies and understanding.
Ten faith traditions have nominated pilgrim cities or sacred sites to become founding members of the Green Pilgrimage Network, ranging as far as Louguan in the People’s Republic of China for Daoists to St Albans in the UK for Anglicans and Amritsar for the Sikhs. The city authorities of Jerusalem, a major pilgrimage destination for three faiths, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, will join the network to green the city for all pilgrims. In addition, Dwarka is also joining from India.
Washington-based EcoSikh has coordinated the Sikh participation in the upcoming summit and has worked with the SGPC and the Punjab government to make a commitment to make Amritsar an environment-friendly city.
The initiative was started when Bandana Kaur from EcoSikh and Victoria Finlay from ARC, the two organisations working with the Sikh community on environmental issues, met city officials in Amritsar to discuss the plans. With the strong relationship between Sikh teachings and the environment, SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar and Punjab Pollution Control Board chairman Kahn Singh Pannu readily agreed that Amritsar would be a great addition to the Green Pilgrim Cities Network.
At Assisi, Pannu along with Dalmegh Singh, secretary, SGPC, will announce the Sikh commitment. Pannu said, “This is major step to bring together faith and environment in a concrete manner. I am very excited to be part of this initiative”.
Dalmegh Singh said, “The SGPC has taken major steps to make environment as an important agenda in its operation and is committed to make the city of Guru Ram Dass a place of inspiration for nature preservation”.
Dr Rajwant Singh, president, EcoSikh, said, “This is a great opportunity for Sikhs to show to the world that we are committed to save earth and this will start with our concerted action in Amritsar. The idea is to improve environmental practices through eco-friendly planning, and at the heart is the hope that devotees will be encouraged to be respectful to the nature throughout their pilgrimage by minimising waste”. 

The aim: The network will help people of various religions make their holy cities and sacred sites as environmentally sustainable as possible according to their own theologies and understanding
The initiative: Washington-based EcoSikh has coordinated the Sikh participation in the upcoming summit and has worked with the SGPC and the Punjab Government to make a commitment to make Amritsar an environment-friendly city

Discrimination: Indian-American gets job, $295,000 in compensation in US


Washington, October 28
Six years after he was denied prison guard’s job in California as he refused to shave off his beard required by his Sikh religion, an Indian-American has finally been appointed as a correctional officer in the prison and won $295,000 in damages.
Trilochan Singh Oberoi, 63, has reached a settlement in this regard with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) as a result of which he would start his duty as a correctional officer from November 1.
“Oberoi’s legal battle exemplifies the challenges many Sikhs face in the US in seeking private and government employment after 9/11, as widespread ignorance, prejudice and hate pose serious challenges to equal opportunity for South Asians, and particularly Sikh Americans, who are often mistaken for Middle Eastern terrorists,” said attorney Harmeet K Dhillon, who represented Oberoi.
In 2005, Oberoi applied for a position as a correctional officer with the CDCR, according to a statement issued today.
Oberoi advanced to the final stage of the application process, which involved being fit-tested with a particular model of tight-fitting respirator mask, and was told that he could not take the test unless he were to shave off his beard.
Oberoi requested that the CDCR accommodate his religiously mandated beard, but was not granted such an accommodation and was not hired by the CDCR in any capacity.
After making numerous attempts over the next year to ascertain the status of his accommodation request, in February 2007, he filed an appeal with the California State Personnel Board (SPB) concerning the CDCR’s denial of his opportunity to complete the correctional officer application because of his beard.

Faridkot honour killing: Death sentence for 4 of girl’s family

Faridkot, October 28
The court of the Faridkot District and Sessions Judge today awarded death penalty to four persons accused in a case of honour killing in September 2009.
The court found Gurmukh Singh, Gurnaib Singh, Resham Singh and Kulbir Sharma, the cousins and uncle of Manpreet Kaur of Bhagthala Kalan village adjoining Faridkot, guilty of killing Gurpreet Singh after he married Manpreet against her family members’ wishes.
Gurpreet Singh (25), had eloped with Manpreet Kaur and they got married in November 2008. For the next 11 months, the couple stayed at different places to escape the wrath of the latter’s family members, Gurpreet’s brother Kuldeep Singh said.
After some time, on assuming that Manpreet’s family had reconciled to the marriage, the couple returned to Faridkot and started living in Guru Nanak Colony.
On the evening of September 20, 2009, when Gurpreet, his brother Kuldeep and a cousin were riding back on their motorcycles from the Baba Farid Mela, Gurpreet was waylaid by four persons in a car. The accused allegedly attacked Gurpreet with sharp-edged weapons, a hockey stick and a double-barrel gun and killed him after chasing him in the colony.
The Faridkot Police had booked the four for murder on the complaint of Kuldeep Singh, Gurpreet’s brother.
Pronouncing the death sentence, judge Fateh Deep Singh cited a Supreme Court observation that death penalty should be the punishment for honour killing.
In a dramatic twist during the trial, Manpreet Kaur sought to give a clean chit to the accused, saying the murder of her husband was not an honour killing crime. In her testimony, she claimed that her family had accepted their marriage after some time and even gave her dowry. However, on the basis of the testimony of the prime witness in the case, the court held the four guilty of the honour killing.

More Canadians working longer into retirement years, StatsCan says

TORONTO - Older Canadians are forgoing a life of leisure out of the workforce and opting to spend more of their golden years on the job, continuing an ongoing trend of delaying retirement, according to a new study.
Research from Statistics Canada finds that a 50-year-old worker in 2008 could expect to stay in the labour force another 16 years — 3.5 years longer than would have been the case in the mid-1990s.
The study estimates the number of years a 50-year-old worker can expect to work before retiring, if retirement rates of a given year prevail.
The report, which is based on statistics dating back to the mid-'70s, says older workers have been increasingly delaying retirement since the mid-1990s. That reverses a trend seen in the 1980s and early 1990s, when early retirements were prevalent due to high public-sector deficits and downsizing among private-sector organizations.
Statistics Canada researcher Diane Galarneau, who co-wrote the report with Yves Carriere, said they don't have any information about the motivation of people and why they're remaining at work, but said there are several potential factors at play. Among them: individuals are living longer and in good health, and there are greater opportunities for boomers since the cohort following them into the labour market is smaller.
Galarneau said finances — rising levels of debt and shrinking nest eggs — may also figure in. However, she noted the financial crisis of 2008 is not a main factor since the delayed retirement trend has been observed now for nearly 15 years.
Jim Stanford, economist with the Canadian Auto Workers, said in the current climate it isn't surprising older workers are staying on the job longer given the level of economic uncertainty, along with those without pension plans depending on RRSPs to help fund their retirement.
With many seeing their savings hammered by financial market turmoil, a growing proportion of older Canadians can't afford to retire, he said.
"They don't get as much time to enjoy the fruits of their labour for their life, but secondly it makes the problem of youth unemployment all the worse," Stanford said.
"We do have a whole generation of Canadians that are better educated than ever which is finding it extremely hard to find work. You've got well-trained, university-educated people doing odd jobs or working in fast food, and that will be all the worse if the baby boomers end up working longer."
With many boomers continuing to work as they enter what should be their retirement years, it carries an implication that more jobs will need to be created to absorb newcomers into the labour force, said Andrew Jackson, chief economist with the Canadian Labour Congress.
"The employment rate and the participation rate are probably not going to decline as fast as people were anticipating because of this tendency to delay retirement," he said from Ottawa.
Susan Eng, vice-president, advocacy for CARP, said the upside to older workers who delay retirement is that they're not committed to retiring at a certain age.
"There's also the concern always on the dark side issues of ageism and people being forced out of the workplace," she said.
"It is a positive sign that people see that their working lives don't end at a certain date, that they want to keep working, they have something to contribute and the workplaces want to keep them there. The negative side of that, of course, is some of them have to keep working."
Despite greater gender equity, many women who leave the workforce to take on caregiving responsibilities for children and later parents and spouses are particularly vulnerable, she noted.
"Their retirement savings are negligible and they are forming a greater percentage of those people who are facing financial insecurity in retirement."
After a 35-year career in arts administration, Adina Lebo has no plans to slow down.
At age 61, the Toronto chapter chair of CARP says she's young at heart and spirit, and that her decision to continue working stems both from desire and necessity.
"I have accumulated all kinds of skills from communications to event planning to strategy and organizational startups, so I'm continuing to do that. I see doing that for the foreseeable future just because I don't know what I would do if I retired," Lebo said with a laugh. "I'm just used to getting up and doing and participating in society, not withdrawing from it.
"I'm doing different things now in different arenas, but I'm using all the skills I've accumulated through my life. I don't know if I will ever be financially stable enough to retire given cost-of-living increases and the economics and the stocks and bonds and RRSPs ... the fluctuations."
Lebo said many of her friends have opted to start up small businesses in baking or dogwalking and are happy in their careers going forward whether as their own bosses or working for others — albeit at a more leisurely pace.
"I think as you get older, the one thing I'm seeing changing is you don't want to do the 100-hour weeks, the 80-hour weeks, the life absorbed by work," she said.
"I think as you age you get a work-life balance. I'm doing work that I love doing, but I'm also taking time for myself. I get to my exercise classes, I get to the opera, I get to the theatre. So your life becomes just a little more well-rounded."

5 Financial Math Skills Every Teen Should Learn

Wednesday October 26, 2011, 1:00 pm EDT

If we were to measure education in the United States purely by how students performed on standardized tests, the results might be labeled: embarrassing. In math, the United States ranks 25 th out of the 30 among developed nations and 24 th in science. According to McKinsey & Company, authors of "The Economic Impact of the Achievement Gap in America's Schools," minority students perform two to three years behind their white peers.


Performance on standardized tests full of abstract math may be a good indicator of the higher-level thinking skills of our children, but these tests do little to prepare a child for the math he or she will need as an adult. One study by the Federal Reserve found that people who filed for bankruptcy had an average of one and a half times more debt than their income. If they were making $24,000 per year, they had an average of $36,000 in debt.
Whether the measurement is abstract math or practical life skills relating to math, America appears to be falling short. In response, many are calling for reform in the way we teach math and among those reforms, a course that teaches skills that adults use every day as they manage their finances. Some of the practical concepts may include some of the following.
Percentage of Gain or LossThink of all the times you've seen signs with percentages. Everything dealing with money comes back to percentages in some way. Twenty five percent off at a retailer, credit card interest rates and investment yields are just a few examples. Every cell phone has a calculator, but how many people can calculate percentage of gain or loss even with a calculator? This may be one of the most important skills, beyond simple computation, that we teach children.
Mental MathHow do numbers relate to each other? If you have something that costs $100 and there is a 20% off tag on it, 10% of any number is easy to find. For 20%, find 10% and double it. Mental math such as this allows consumers to do rapid comparisons of value while shopping.
Simple InterestIf a person receives 3% interest per year on their $10,000 deposited in the bank, they can figure out what they receive each month by calculating the percentage and dividing by 12. How many people would know that they will receive $25 per month?
CompoundingThere isn't a practical need to be able to compute compound interest, but teaching children how compounding works may encourage more people to start a savings or investment account. Most important, we should teach kids how compounding is like a snowball rolling downhill. Starting a savings or investment account won't produce big gains at first, but as the compounding snowball takes over, the gains are what make people rich. The same principal works when paying off debt. As you pay off more debt, interest doesn't compound which puts more money in your pocket allowing you to perpetually make higher payments.
Annual Percentage Rate (APR) Vs. Annual Percentage Yield (APY)This is an example of a concept that is slightly complicated, but sometimes used as a way to mask the real interest a person will pay. In general, APR is used for loans and APY for investments, but not always. APR is simple interest and APY takes in to account the effects of compounding. Consumers should look past the APR and focus only on the APY.
In reality APR and APY are not significantly different until large sums of money or a longer-term loan period is involved. The important thing to remember is to focus on the APY when both are listed.
The Bottom LineAlthough understanding how to calculate concepts like percentage may serve a practical purpose, there are calculators online that can help with all of these concepts. Most important, all practical math concepts taught should focus on making common sense financial decisions and showing young people how those decisions come with handsome and substantial rewards.

Immigration officials closely monitoring Roma arrivals

Senior immigration brass are monitoring the thousands of Hungarian Romas filing for refugee status in Canada and taking steps to shut down the flow of claimants.
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney’s office said a new Balanced Refugee Reform Act to take affect in June will hopefully put an end to some of the bogus
claims.
“We are taking action to stop this abuse,” Kenney aide, Candice Malcolm, said on Thursday. “We are concerned about the rising number of unfounded refugee claims from people who take advantage of our generosity.”
The officials are reacting to reports by Sun Media that up to 50 Hungarian Romas are arriving nightly and filing claims at Pearson airport. About 110 Romas arrived one night last week prompting concerns by front-line officers that the many ailing seniors and children can cause a strain to our health care system.
Hungary has been a top-three refugee producing country since 2009 when 2,400 people filed claims. Some 2,300 applied for refugee status in 2010 and 2,500 so far this year. About 23% are accepted as refugees and up to 1,600 cases have been withdrawn.
Malcolm said the department is not slapping visa restrictions on Hungary.
“We are always reviewing visa policies,” Malcolm said. “We do not have immediate plans to impose any new visas.”
She said the new bill will grant immigration workers the power to screen claims for hearings and cases will be decided in about two to three months, rather than years.
“Too much of our time is taken up processing applications from people who are not really in need of protection,” Malcolm said by e-mail.
Toronto Distrct School Board Trustee Irene Atkinson said about 300 Roma children attend schools in the Parkdale area, which has the largest concentrate of Romas in the city.
“We need resources to help the parents and teachers to deal with the children,” Atkinson said. “It is a challenge because most teachers don’t speak Roma or Hungarian.”
She said many Roma students often arrive in Canada illiterate and are deported before they can finish school.
Gina Csanyi-Robah, executive director of Roma Community Centre, said there are a number of Toronto conmen preying on the new-arrivals.
The Romas are allegedly being ripped off for their meagre savings by people who claim they are taxi drivers at the airport, or immigration consultants and lawyers, Csanyi-Robah said.
She alleged agents working for some lawyers are sent to Toronto shelters to find Romas as clients because they’re eligible for Ontario Legal Aid.
“There are people waiting outside the airport and shelters who take advantage of them,” Csanyi-Roban said. “Three families were left outside a shelter in the middle of the night and the driver took off.”
She alleged lawyers are taking Legal Aid certificates from Romas and performing little work in return.
“There are a number of parasites in the community who are taking advantage of these people,” Csanyi-Roban said. “When they (Romas) arrive here they don’t speak English and don’t know what to expect.”

Canadian Dollar

The Canadian dollar (sign : $ ; code : CAD) is the currency  of Canada . It is abbreviated with the dollar sign  $, or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar -denominated currencies. It is divided into 100 cents.
Currency sign
A currency sign is a graphic symbol used as a shorthand for a currency's name, especially in reference to amounts of money. They typically employ the first letter or character of the currency, sometimes with minor changes such as ligatures or overlaid vertical or horizontal bars...

Dollar sign
The dollar or peso sign is a symbol primarily used to indicate the various peso and dollar units of currency around the world.- Origin :...

ISO 4217
ISO 4217 is a standard published by the International Standards Organization, which delineates currency designators, country codes , and references to minor units in three tables:* Table A.1 – Current currency & funds code list...

Currency
In economics, currency refers to physical objects generally accepted as a medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...

Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean. It is the world's second largest country by...

Dollar sign
The dollar or peso sign is a symbol primarily used to indicate the various peso and dollar units of currency around the world.- Origin :...

Dollar
The dollar is the name of the official currency of many countries, including the United States, Canada, the Eastern Caribbean territories, Ecuador, Suriname, El Salvador, Panama, Belize, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Brunei, East Timor, Australia, and New Zealand.-Etymology:On the 15th of January,...

From the Canadian pound to the Canadian dollar


In 1841, the Province of Canada  adopted a new system based on the Halifax rating . The new Canadian pound  was equal to four U.S. dollars (92.88 grains gold), making one pound sterling  equal to 1 pound 4 shillings 4 pence Canadian. Thus, the new Canadian pound  was worth 16 shillings 5.3 pence sterling.

The 1850s was a decade of wrangling over whether to adopt a sterling  monetary system or a decimal monetary system based on the U.S. dollar. The local population, for reasons of practicality in relation to the increasing trade with the neighbouring United States, had a desire to assimilate the Canadian currency with the American unit, but the imperial authorities in London still preferred the idea of sterling to be the sole currency throughout the British Empire . In 1851, the Legislative Council and Assembly of Canada passed an act for the purposes of introducing a pound sterling  unit in conjunction with decimal fractional coinage. The idea was that the decimal coins would correspond to exact amounts in relation to the U.S. dollar fractional coinage.

As a compromise, in 1853 an act of the Legislative Council and Assembly of Canada introduced the gold standard  into Canada, based on both the British gold sovereign and the American gold eagle coins . This gold standard was introduced with the gold sovereign being legal tender at £1 = $US. No coinage was provided for under the 1853 act. Sterling coinage was made legal tender and all other silver coins were demonetized. The British government in principle allowed for a decimal coinage but nevertheless held out the hope that a sterling unit would be chosen under the name of 'royal'. However in 1857 the decision was made to introduce a decimal coinage into Canada in conjunction with the U.S. dollar unit. Hence, when the new decimal coins were introduced in 1858, Canada's currency became aligned with the U.S. currency, although the British gold sovereign continued to remain legal tender at the rate of £1 = right up until the 1990s. In 1859, Canadian postage stamps were issued with decimal denominations for the first time.

In 1861, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia  followed Canada in adopting a decimal system based on the U.S. dollar unit. In the following year, Canadian postage stamps were issued with the denominations shown in dollars and cents.

Newfoundland went decimal in 1865, but unlike in the cases of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, it decided to adopt a unit based on the Spanish dollar  rather than on the U.S. dollar, and there was a slight difference between these two units. The U.S. dollar was created in 1792 on the basis of the average weight of a selection of worn Spanish dollars. As such, the Spanish dollar was at a slight discount to the U.S. dollar, and likewise, the Newfoundland dollar  while it existed, was at a slight discount to the Canadian dollar.

In 1867, Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia united in a federation called The Dominion of Canada and the three currencies were united.

In 1871, Prince Edward Island  went decimal within the U.S. dollar unit and introduced coins for 1¢. However, the currency of Prince Edward Island was absorbed into the Canadian system shortly afterwards when Prince Edward island joined the Dominion of Canada.
Province of Canada
The Province of Canada or the United Province of Canada was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham in the Report on the Affairs of British North America following the Rebellions of 1837.The Province of...

Halifax rating
The Halifax rating was a valuation of the Spanish dollar in the £sd accounting system. It set the Spanish dollar at a value of 5 shillings and was established c.1750 in Halifax, Nova Scotia...

Canadian pound
The pound was the unit of account for currency of the Canadas until 1858. It was subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence. In Lower Canada, the sou was used, worth penny...

United States dollar
The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents....

Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha...

Canadian pound
The pound was the unit of account for currency of the Canadas until 1858. It was subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence. In Lower Canada, the sou was used, worth penny...

Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha...

British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height it was the...

Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha...

Gold standard
The gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is a fixed weight of gold. There are distinct kinds of gold standard...

Eagle (United States coin)
The eagle is a base-unit of denomination issued only for gold coinage by the United States Mint. It has been obsolete as a circulating denomination since 1933. The eagle was the largest of the four main decimal base-units of denomination used for circulating coinage in the United States prior to...

New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only constitutionally bilingual province in the federation. The provincial capital is Fredericton; Saint John is the most populous city...

Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the second-smallest province in Canada with an area of...

History of Newfoundland and Labrador
The History of Newfoundland and Labrador is the story of the peoples who have lived in what is now the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. In terms of population, Labrador is far smaller and has been part of Newfoundland since 1763....

Spanish dollar
The Spanish dollar is a silver coin, of approximately 38 mm diameter, worth eight reales, that was minted in the Spanish Empire after a Spanish currency reform in 1497. Its purpose was to correspond to the German thaler...

Newfoundland dollar
The dollar was the currency of the colony and Dominion of Newfoundland from 1865 until 1949, when Newfoundland became a province of Canada. It was subdivided into 100 cents.-History:...

Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...

Currencies used in Canada
CurrencyDates in useValue in British poundsValue in Canadian dollars
Canadian pound
Canadian pound
The pound was the unit of account for currency of the Canadas until 1858. It was subdivided into 20 shillings, each of 12 pence. In Lower Canada, the sou was used, worth penny...
1841–185816s 5.3d$4
Canadian dollar1858–present4s 1.3d$1
New Brunswick dollar
New Brunswick dollar
The dollar was the currency of New Brunswick between 1860 and 1867. It replaced the pound at a rate of 4 dollars = 1 pound and was equal to the Canadian dollar...
1860–1867
British Columbia dollar
British Columbia dollar
The dollar was the currency of British Columbia between 1865 and 1871. It replaced the British pound at a rate of 1 pound = 4.866 dollars and was equivalent to the Canadian dollar, which replaced it. The dollar was subdivided into 100 cents...
1865–1871
Prince Edward Island dollar
Prince Edward Island dollar
The dollar was the currency of Prince Edward Island between 1871 and 1873. It replaced the pound at a rate of 1 pound = 4.866 dollars and was equivalent to the Canadian dollar, which replaced it in 1873. The dollar was subdivided into 100 cents.-Coins:...
1871–1873
Nova Scotian dollar
Nova Scotian dollar
The dollar was the currency of Nova Scotia between 1860 and 1871. It replaced the Nova Scotian pound at a rate of 5 dollars = 1 pound and was consequently worth less than the Canadian dollar...
1860–18714s$0.973
Newfoundland dollar
Newfoundland dollar
The dollar was the currency of the colony and Dominion of Newfoundland from 1865 until 1949, when Newfoundland became a province of Canada. It was subdivided into 100 cents.-History:...
1865–18954s 2d$1.014
1895–19494s 1.3d$1
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
Gold standard
The gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is a fixed weight of gold. There are distinct kinds of gold standard...
 was temporarily abandoned during the First World War and definitively abolished on April 10, 1933. At the outbreak of the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, which involved most of the world's nations, including all of the great powers: eventually forming two opposing military alliances, the Allies and the Axis...
, the exchange rate to the U.S. dollar was fixed at 1.1 Canadian dollars = 1 U.S. dollar. This was changed to parity in 1946. In 1949, sterling was devalued and Canada followed, returning to a peg of 1.1 Canadian dollars = 1 U.S. dollar. However, Canada allowed its dollar to float in 1950, only returning to a fixed exchange rate in 1962, when the dollar was pegged at 1 Canadian dollar = 0.925 U.S. dollar. This peg lasted until 1970, after which the currency's value has floated.

Terminology


Canadian English, like American English
American English
American English is a set of dialects of the English language used mostly in the United States. Approximately two-thirds of native speakers of English live in the United States.English is the most common language in the United States...
, uses the slang term "buck
Dollar
The dollar is the name of the official currency of many countries, including the United States, Canada, the Eastern Caribbean territories, Ecuador, Suriname, El Salvador, Panama, Belize, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Brunei, East Timor, Australia, and New Zealand.-Etymology:On the 15th of January,...
" for a dollar. The Canadian origin of this term derives from a coin struck by the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
 during the 17th century with a value equal to the pelt
Fur
Fur is a synonym for hair, used more in reference to non-human animals, usually mammals; particularly those with extensive body hair coverage. The term is sometimes used to refer to the body hair of an animal as a complete coat, also known as the "pelage". Fur is also used to refer to animal pelts...
 of a male beaver
Beaver
The beaver is a primarily nocturnal, large, semi-aquatic rodent. Castor includes two extant species, North American Beaver and Eurasian Beaver . Beavers are known for building dams, canals, and lodges . They are the second-largest rodent in the world...
 – a "buck". Because of the appearance of the common loon on the back of the dollar coin that replaced the dollar bill in 1987, the word "loonie
Loonie
The Canadian 1 dollar coin is a gold-coloured, bronze-plated, one-dollar coin introduced in 1987. It bears images of a common loon, a well-known Canadian bird, on the reverse, and of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse....
" was adopted in Canadian parlance to distinguish the Canadian dollar coin from the dollar bill. When the two-dollar coin was introduced in 1996, the derivative word "toonie
Toonie
The Canadian 2 dollar coin, commonly called Toonie, was introduced on February 19, 1996 by Public Works minister Diane Marleau. The Toonie is a bi-metallic coin which bears an image of a polar bear, by Campbellford, Ontario artist Brent Townsend, on the reverse. The obverse, like all other current...
" ("two loonies") became the common word for it in Canadian English slang; doubloon is another, informal, term, in reference to the Spanish coin
Doubloon
The doubloon , was a two-escudo or 32-reales gold coin, weighing 6.77 grams . Doubloons were minted in Spain, Mexico, Peru, and Nueva Granada...
 and a play on "double-loonie".

In French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language by most people from France, French-speaking Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, and the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, as well as minorities elsewhere...
, the currency is also called le dollar; Canadian French
Canadian French
Canadian French is an umbrella term referring to the varieties of French spoken in Canada. French is the mother tongue of nearly seven million Canadians, a figure constituting roughly 22% of the national population. At the federal level it has co-official status alongside English...
 slang terms include piastre
Piastre
The word piastre or piaster originates from the Italian for 'thin metal plate'. The name was applied to Spanish and Latin American pieces of eight, or pesos, by Venetian traders in the Levant in the 16th century....
or piasse (same as "buck", but the original word used in 18th-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 of "cent" is generally used for the subdivision; sou is another, informal, term for 1¢. 25¢ coins
Quarter (Canadian coin)
The quarter is a Canadian coin, valued at 25 cents or one-fourth of a Canadian dollar. It is a small, circular coin of silver colour. According to the Royal Canadian Mint, the official name for the coin is the 25-cent piece, but in practice it is simply called a quarter.-History of...
 in Quebec French are often called trente sous (thirty cents) because of a series of changes in terminology, currencies, and exchange rates. After the British conquest of Canada in 1759, French coins gradually went out of use, and sou became a nickname for the halfpenny, which was similar in value to the French sou. Spanish dollars and U.S. dollars were also in use, and from 1841 to 1858 the exchange rate was fixed at $4 = £1 (or 400¢ = 240d). This made 25¢ equal to 15d, or 30 halfpence (trente sous). After decimalization and the withdrawal of halfpence coins, the nickname sou began to be used for the 1¢ coin
Penny (Canadian coin)
In Canada, a penny is a coin worth one cent or of a dollar. According to the Royal Canadian Mint, the official national term of the coin is the "one-cent piece", but in practice the term penny or cent is universal. Originally, "penny" referred to a two-cent coin. When the two-cent coin was...
, but the idiom trente sous for 25¢ endured.

Coins



In 1858, bronze 1¢ and 0.925 silver 5¢, 10¢ and 20¢ coins were issued by the Province of Canada. Except for 1¢ coins struck in 1859, no more coins were issued until 1870, when production of the 5¢ and 10¢ was resumed and silver 25¢ and 50¢ were introduced. Between 1908 and 1919, sovereigns (legal tender in Canada for $) were struck in Ottawa with a "C" mintmark. Gold $5 and $10 coins were issued between 1912 and 1914.

In 1920, the size of the 1¢ was reduced and the silver fineness of the 5¢, 10¢, 25¢ and 50¢ coins was reduced to .800 silver/.200 copper. This composition was maintained for the 10¢, 25¢ and 50¢ piece through 1966, but the debasement of the 5¢ piece continued in 1922 with the silver 5¢ being entirely replaced by a larger nickel coin. In 1942, as a war-time measure, nickel was replaced by tombac
Tombac
Tombac, as spelled in French, or Tombak is a brass alloy with high copper content and 5-20% zinc content. Tin, lead or arsenic may be added for colouration.It is a cheap malleable alloy mainly used for medals, ornament, decoration and some munitions....
 in the 5¢ coin, which was changed in shape from round to dodecagonal. Chromium-plated steel was used for the 5¢ in 1944 and 1945 and between 1951 and 1954, after which nickel was readopted. The 5¢ returned to a round shape in 1963.

In 1935, the 0.800 silver Voyageur dollar
Voyageur Dollar
The Voyageur Dollar was a coin of Canada struck for circulation in silver from 1935 to 1966, and as a commemorative in 2003. A nickel version was struck from 1968 to 1987. In 1987, the coin was replaced by the loonie. The coin remains legal tender....
 was introduced. Production was maintained through 1967 with the exception of the war years between 1939 and 1945.


In 1967 both .800 silver/.200 copper and, later that year, .500 silver/.500 copper 10¢ and 25¢ coins were issued. 1968 saw further debasement: the .500 fine silver dimes and quarters were completely replaced by nickel ones mid-year. All 1968 50¢ and $1 coins were reduced in size and coined only in pure nickel. Thus, 1968 marked the last year in which any circulating silver coinage was issued in Canada.

In 1982, the 1¢ coin was changed to dodecagonal and the 5¢ was further debased to a cupro-nickel alloy. In 1987, a $1 coin struck in aureate-plated nickel was introduced. A bimetallic $2 coin followed in 1996. In 1997, copper-plated zinc replaced bronze in the 1¢. This was followed, in 2000, by the introduction of even cheaper plated-steel 1¢, 5¢, 10¢, 25¢ and 50¢ coins, with the 1¢ plated in copper and the others plated in cupro-nickel.

Coins are produced by the Royal Canadian Mint
Royal Canadian Mint
The Royal Canadian Mint produces all of Canada's circulation coins, and manufactures circulation coins on behalf of other nations. The Mint also designs and manufactures: precious and base metal collector coins; gold, silver, palladium, and platinum bullion coins; medals, as well as medallions and...
 in Winnipeg, Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, and currently issued in denominations of 1¢ (penny
Penny (Canadian coin)
In Canada, a penny is a coin worth one cent or of a dollar. According to the Royal Canadian Mint, the official national term of the coin is the "one-cent piece", but in practice the term penny or cent is universal. Originally, "penny" referred to a two-cent coin. When the two-cent coin was...
), 5¢ (nickel
Nickel (Canadian coin)
The Canadian five-cent coin, commonly called a nickel, is a coin worth five cents or one-twentieth of a Canadian dollar. It was patterned on the corresponding coin in the neighbouring United States...
), 10¢ (dime
Dime (Canadian coin)
In Canada a dime is a coin worth ten cents. It is the smallest of the currently issued Canadian coins. According to the Royal Canadian Mint, the official national term of the coin is the 10 cent piece, but in practice the term dime is universal...
), 25¢ (quarter
Quarter (Canadian coin)
The quarter is a Canadian coin, valued at 25 cents or one-fourth of a Canadian dollar. It is a small, circular coin of silver colour. According to the Royal Canadian Mint, the official name for the coin is the 25-cent piece, but in practice it is simply called a quarter.-History of...
), 50¢ (50¢ piece
50 Cent Piece (Canadian coin)
The fifty-cent piece is the common name of the Canadian coin worth 50 cents. It is sometimes referred to as a "half dollar." The coin's reverse depicts the coat of arms of Canada. At the opening ceremonies for the Ottawa branch of the Royal Mint, held on January 2, 1908, Governor General Earl Grey...
) (though the 50¢ piece is rarely used, to the point where few even know of its existence.), $1 (loonie
Loonie
The Canadian 1 dollar coin is a gold-coloured, bronze-plated, one-dollar coin introduced in 1987. It bears images of a common loon, a well-known Canadian bird, on the reverse, and of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse....
), and $2 (toonie). The standard set of designs has Canadian symbols, usually wildlife, on the reverse, and an effigy of Elizabeth II on the obverse
Obverse and reverse
The term obverse and its opposite, reverse, describe the two flat faces of coins and sometimes other kinds of two-sided objects such as paper currency, flags , medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics...
. However, some pennies, nickels, and dimes remain in circulation that bear the effigy of George VI. Commemorative coins with differing reverses are also issued on an irregular basis. 50¢ 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 removing the penny from circulation as it is estimated that it costs the Royal Canadian Mint up to four cents to produce and distribute a one-cent coin. 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.
A 2007 survey shows that only 37% of Canadians use pennies but the government continues to produce about 816 million pennies per year, equal to 25 pennies per Canadian.

Banknotes



The first paper money issued in Canada denominated in dollars were British Army bills, issued between 1813 and 1815. Canadian dollar bank notes were later issued by the chartered banks
Banking in Canada
Banking in Canada is widely considered the most efficient and safest banking system in the world, ranking as the world's soundest banking system for the past three years according to reports by the World Economic Forum. Released at October 2010, Global Finance magazine put Royal Bank of Canada at...
 starting in the 1830s, by several pre-confederation
Canadian Confederation
Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...
 colonial governments (most notably the Province of Canada
Province of Canada
The Province of Canada or the United Province of Canada was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham in the Report on the Affairs of British North America following the Rebellions of 1837.The Province of...
  in 1866), and after confederation, by the Dominion of Canada starting in 1870. Some municipalities also issued notes, most notably depression scrip
Scrip
Scrip is an American term for any substitute for currency which is not legal tender and is often a form of credit. Scrips were created as company payment of employees and also as a means of payment in times where regular money is unavailable, such as remote coal towns, military bases, ships on long...
during the 1930s.

In 1935, with only 10 chartered banks still issuing notes, the Bank of Canada was founded. It took over the federal issuance of notes from the Dominion of Canada. It began issuing notes in denominations of $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $25, $50, $100, $500 and $1000. In 1944, the chartered banks were prohibited from issuing their own currency, with the Royal Bank of Canada
Royal Bank of Canada
The Royal Bank of Canada is the largest financial institution in Canada, which is measured by deposits, revenues, and market capitalization. The bank serves seventeen million clients and has 80,100 employees worldwide. The company corporate headquarters are located in Toronto, Ontario. The bank...
 and the Bank of Montreal among the last to issue notes.

Significant design changes to the notes have occurred since 1935, with new series introduced in 1937, 1954, 1970, 1986, and 2001. The next series of notes is scheduled to be released in 2011. The design of these new notes has not been revealed to the public as of March 2011, but it has been confirmed that the notes will be printed on a polymer
Polymer banknote
Polymer banknotes were developed by the Reserve Bank of Australia , Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and The University of Melbourne and were first issued as currency in Australia in 1988. These banknotes are made from the polymer biaxially-oriented polypropylene ...
 substrate instead of cotton fibre.

All banknotes are currently printed by the Canadian Bank Note Company
Canadian Bank Note Company
The Canadian Bank Note Company is a Canadian security printing company. It is probably best known for being one of two private companies holding contracts with the Bank of Canada to supply it with Canada's paper currency. The company's other clients include private businesses, national and...
 and BA International Inc, under contract to the Bank of Canada.

Legal tender


Canadian dollar banknotes issued by the Bank of Canada are legal tender in Canada. However, commercial transactions may legally be settled in any manner agreed by the parties involved.

Legal tender of Canadian coinage is governed by the Currency Act
Currency Act
The Currency Act is the name of several acts of the Parliament of Great Britain that regulated paper money issued by the colonies of British America. The acts sought to protect British merchants and creditors from being paid in depreciated colonial currency...
 which sets out limits of:
  • $50 if the denomination is $2
    Toonie
    The Canadian 2 dollar coin, commonly called Toonie, was introduced on February 19, 1996 by Public Works minister Diane Marleau. The Toonie is a bi-metallic coin which bears an image of a polar bear, by Campbellford, Ontario artist Brent Townsend, on the reverse. The obverse, like all other current...
     or greater but does not exceed $10;
  • $25 if the denomination is $1
    Loonie
    The Canadian 1 dollar coin is a gold-coloured, bronze-plated, one-dollar coin introduced in 1987. It bears images of a common loon, a well-known Canadian bird, on the reverse, and of Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse....
    ;
  • $10 if the denomination is 10¢ or greater but less than $1;
  • $5 if the denomination is 5¢;
  • 25¢ if the denomination is 1¢.


Retailers in Canada may refuse bank notes without breaking the law. According to legal guidelines, the method of payment has to be mutually agreed upon by the parties involved with the transactions. For example, convenience stores may refuse $100 bank notes if they feel that would put them at risk of being counterfeit
Counterfeit
A counterfeit is an imitation, usually one that is made with the intent of fraudulently passing it off as genuine. Counterfeit products are often produced with the intent to take advantage of the superior value of the imitated product...
 victims; however, official policy suggests that the retailers should evaluate the impact of that approach. In the case that no mutually acceptable form of payment can be found for the tender, the parties involved should seek legal advice.

Canadian dollars, especially coins, are accepted by some businesses in the northernmost cities of the United States and in many Canadian snowbird
Snowbird (people)
The term snowbird is used to describe people from the U.S. Northeast, U.S. Midwest, or Canada who spend a large portion of winter in warmer locales such as California, Arizona, Florida, Texas, the Carolinas, or elsewhere along the Sun Belt region of the southern and southwest United States,...
 enclaves, just as U.S. dollars are accepted by some Canadian businesses.

Value


Unlike other currencies in the Bretton Woods system
Bretton Woods system
The Bretton Woods system of monetary management established the rules for commercial and financial relations among the world's major industrial states in the mid 20th century...
, whose values were fixed
Fixed exchange rate
A fixed exchange rate, sometimes called a pegged exchange rate, is a type of exchange rate regime wherein a currency's value is matched to the value of another single currency or to a basket of other currencies, or to another measure of value, such as gold.A fixed exchange rate is usually used to...
, the Canadian dollar was allowed to float
Floating exchange rate
A floating exchange rate or fluctuating exchange rate is a type of exchange rate regime wherein a currency's value is allowed to fluctuate according to the foreign exchange market. A currency that uses a floating exchange rate is known as a floating currency....
 from 1950 to 1962. Between 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 Canadian dollar fell considerably after 1960, and this contributed to Prime Minister John Diefenbaker's defeat in the 1963 election
Canadian federal election, 1963
The Canadian federal election of 1963 was held on April 8 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 26th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in the defeat of the minority Progressive Conservative government of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker.During the Tories' last year in office,...
. The Canadian dollar returned to a fixed exchange rate regime in 1962 when its value was set at US$0.925, where it remained until 1970.

As an inflation
Inflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...
-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 in the United States, and was traded for as little as 61.79¢ U.S. on 21 January 2002, which was an all-time low. Since then, its value against all major currencies has risen due, in part, to high prices for commodities (especially oil
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
) that Canada exports.

The CAD's value against the U.S. dollar rose sharply in 2007 due to the continued strength of the Canadian economy and the U.S. currency's 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.

Inflation
Inflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...
 in the value of the Canadian dollar was fairly low since the 1990s, but had been severe for some decades before that. In 2007 the Canadian dollar rebounded remarkably, soaring 23% in value.

On September 28, 2007, the Canadian dollar closed above the U.S. dollar for the first time in 30 years, at US$1.0052.
On November 7, 2007, it hit US$1.1024 during trading, a modern-day high
after China announced it would diversify its US$1.43 trillion foreign exchange reserve away from the U.S. dollar. (The dollar has been as high as US$2.78, reached on 11 July 1864 after the United States had temporarily abandoned the gold standard.) By November 30, however, the Canadian dollar was once again at par with the U.S. dollar, and on December 4, the dollar had retreated back to US$0.98, through a cut in interest rates made by the Bank of Canada due to concerns about exports to the U.S.

Due to its soaring value and new record highs, the Canadian dollar was named the Canadian Newsmaker of the Year for 2007 by the Canadian edition of Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong. As of 2009, Time no longer publishes a Canadian advertiser edition...
magazine.

Since 84.2% of Canada's exports go to the U.S., and 56.7% of imports into Canada come from the U.S., Canadians are mainly interested in the value of their currency against the U.S. dollar. Although domestic concerns arise when the dollar trades much lower than its U.S. counterpart, there is also concern among exporters when the dollar appreciates quickly. The rapid rise in the value of the dollar increases the price of Canadian exports to the U.S. On the other hand, there are advantages to a rising dollar, in that it is cheaper for Canadian industries to purchase foreign material and businesses.

The rise in value has affected the book and book publishing industry, where buyers have been accustomed to fixed prices on the backs of their books: one for the Canadian market, and another one for the American market.

The Bank of Canada has no specific target value for the Canadian dollar and has not intervened in foreign exchange market
Foreign exchange market
The foreign exchange market is a global, worldwide decentralized over-the-counter financial market for trading currencies. Financial centers around the world function as anchors of trading between a wide range of different types of buyers and sellers around the clock, with the exception of weekends...
s since 1998. The Bank's official position is that market conditions should determine the worth of the Canadian dollar, although the BoC occasionally makes minor attempts to influence its value.

On world markets, the Canadian dollar historically tended to move in tandem with the U.S. dollar. An apparently rising Canadian dollar (against the U.S. dollar) was decreasing against other international currencies; however, during the rise of the Canadian dollar since 2002, it has gained value against the U.S. dollar as well as other international currencies. In recent years, dramatic fluctuations in the value of the Canadian dollar have tended to correlate with shifts in oil prices, reflecting the dollar's status as a petrocurrency
Petrocurrency
Petrocurrency is a portmanteau neologismused with three distinct meanings, though often confused:#Trading surpluses of oil producing nations, originally called petrodollars...
 owing to Canada's significant oil exports.

Reserve currency


A number of central banks (and commercial banks) keep Canadian dollars as a reserve currency. The Canadian dollar is considered to be a benchmark currency.

In the economy of the Americas the Canadian dollar plays a similar role to that which the Australian dollar
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
 (AUD) does in the Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific or Asia Pacific is the part of the world in or near the Western Pacific Ocean...
 region. The Canadian dollar (as a regional reserve currency for banking) has been an important part of the British, French and Dutch Caribbean state's economies and finance systems since the 1950s. The Canadian dollar is held by many central banks in Central America and South America as well. The holding of the Canadian dollar in Latin America is done so because of each nation's nationally important issues of remittances and international trade.

By observing how the Canadian dollar behaves against the U.S. dollar, foreign exchange economists can indirectly observe internal behaviours and patterns in the US economy that could not be seen by direct observation. The Canadian dollar has only fully evolved into a global reserve currency since the 1970s when it was floated against all other world currencies. Some economists have attributed the rise of importance of the Canadian dollar to the long term effects of the Nixon Shock
Nixon Shock
The Nixon Shock was a series of economic measures taken by U.S. President Richard Nixon in 1971 including unilaterally cancelling the direct convertibility of the United States dollar to gold that essentially ended the existing Bretton Woods system of international financial exchange.-Background:By...
 that effectively ended the Bretton Woods systemof global finance.

The Canadian dollar is used as a reserve currency around the world and is currently ranked 6th in value held as reserves.

Concerns about the United States of America's increasing debt levels in recent years have caused the Canadian dollar to become more widely held as an international reserve currency, as countries try to decrease their US dollar-denominated reserves.

Canadian dollar surges above parity on Europe euphoria

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar surged past parity with the U.S. dollar on Thursday to end at its highest level in more than a month as a plan to staunch the European debt crisis sparked euphoria across financial markets.
Global stocks, the euro, crude oil and metal prices all rocketed higher, shaking off months of bearish sentiment in a rally that bolstered commodity-linked currencies such as the Canadian dollar and sank the safe-haven greenback.
"It's a relief rally in a sense. Europe has finally got the plan to have a plan to have a plan laid out," said Shaun Osborne, chief currency strategist at TD Securities.
"On the basis of what we've seen from equities markets today it is no real surprise the Canadian dollar is trading higher, and we may see another cent or two upside from here."
The Canadian dollar ended Thursday's North American session at C$0.9913 to the U.S. dollar, or $1.0088, about 1.3 percent above Wednesday's session close at C$1.0048 to the U.S. dollar, or 99.52 U.S. cents. It was the biggest one-day gain in the currency since early August.
The Canadian dollar touched a session high of C$0.9892 to the U.S. dollar, or $1.0110, its highest level since September 20.
The rally came after European Union policymakers agreed to a plan for the recapitalization of European banks, for a far more powerful rescue fund for the euro zone, and for banks and insurers to accept 50 percent losses on their Greek debt holdings.
For the moment, investors shrugged off the fact that key aspects of the deal, including the mechanics of boosting the firepower of the European Financial Stability Facility and providing Greek debt relief, could take weeks to finalize.
Major U.S. stock indexes, which had flirted with bear territory in the summer because of the debt crisis, surged on the deal, with the benchmark S&P 500 on track to post its biggest monthly gain since 1974.
Metal prices jumped 5 percent or more, U.S. oil rose more than 4 percent and the euro gained 2.4 percent.
Signs of stronger growth in the United States, Canada's largest trading partner, also boosted the Canadian dollar.
U.S. gross domestic product expanded at a 2.5 percent annual rate in the third quarter, the Commerce Department said in its first estimate on Thursday. That was a big acceleration from the 1.3 percent pace in the April-June quarter and matched economists' expectations.
But analysts were skeptical the Europe-led euphoria would last, anticipating some market disappointment as details of the plan are worked out. Osborne said he did not believe the strength in risk assets like the Canadian dollar would prevail in the longer term, given global economic headwinds.
"I don't think it is sustainable from a longer-term point of view, given slow global growth, instability in commodity prices, the prospect of weaker growth in Europe and lower interest rates in the euro zone perhaps taking a bit of an ax to the euro rally later this year or early next year," he said.
"I think the Canadian dollar looks quite rich at these levels. We're still looking for C$1.04 into the end of next year and if we do get that rate cut in Europe and the euro drifting back, potentially dropping back quite sharply, C$1.09 is still our first quarter 2012 forecast."
Canadian government bond prices were lower in the risk-on trade. The two-year bond was down 11 Canadian cents to yield 1.135 percent. The 10-year bond fell 94 Canadian cents to yield 2.483 percent.