Paul Martin's Business Update - March 12th, 2014

Paul Martin's Business Update - March 12th, 2014

The fall in the value of the Canadian dollar is likely to cause 3 million fewer visits to the US by Canadians this year and next.

That forecast comes from the economists at TD Bank. They estimate that 23 million trips are made by Canadians each year – most of them just day trips but this also includes those on longer holidays or snowbirds who go south for months. They figure that number will decline by 3 million in the wake of the Canadian dollar declining roughly 15 per cent from its peak.

This may be hard on consumers looking south for bargains but it is good news for Canadian retailers. The bank says we usually spend in the neighborhood of $22 billion a year in the US but the bank expects the figure will decline by more than $4 billion as a result of the lower dollar.

And while snowbirds will continue to go south for extended periods because it is more of a lifestyle choice than economic but it will mean fewer of us will buy property down there.

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