Skip to main content
inside the market

The Canadian dollar enjoyed a rather upbeat 2020, considering the economic collapse in the spring.

Most currencies (97 out of 139) weakened against the loonie last year, highlighted by a 1.8-per-cent decline for the U.S. dollar. When the pandemic escalated in March, the Canadian dollar tumbled below 70 U.S. cents. Since then, it has staged a multi-month recovery to around 78 U.S. cents, in large part due to broad-based weakness for the greenback.

It was not an entirely positive year, however. Several major currencies – including the euro, Japanese yen and British pound – strengthened against the Canadian dollar.

“While we are concerned about the big deterioration in Canada’s fiscal position relative to others, as well as very real competitiveness challenges for the country, we are on balance looking for the currency to hang on to its most recent gains in 2021,” read a December report from Bank of Montreal.

Here’s the full view of last year’s returns. (We’ve highlighted some major currencies below for reference.)

Be smart with your money. Get the latest investing insights delivered right to your inbox three times a week, with the Globe Investor newsletter. Sign up today.

Follow related authors and topics

Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following.

Interact with The Globe