Paul Martin's Business Update - April 22nd, 2014

Paul Martin's Business Update - April 22nd, 2014

Zipping across the line for a day of shopping is not as popular as it used to be.

Tracking of the number of Canadians heading to the US this winter suggests the declining Canadian dollar is making the idea of a day trip to the States less appealing. But it is not enough to stop Canadians from taking major holidays to America.

As the winter got colder and longer, the lure of a southern clime apparently rose. January saw 670,000 of us take a plane trip to the States. By February – a shorter month but colder – prompted even more of – 700,000 in all – to head to the local airport for a flight heading to a southern destination.

But the number doing the day-trip thing was falling at the same time. 8000 fewer Canadians drove to the States in February when compared to January but that was down about 100,000 from the same month last year when the exchange rate was in our favor. Clearly the falling Canadian dollar – and declining purchasing power for us - is making shopping in the States for daily essentials less interesting.

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