Canadian dollar

The Canadian dollar (symbol: $; code: CAD; dollar canadien) is the currency of Canada. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign$. There is no standard disambiguating form, but the abbreviations Can$, CA$ and C$are frequently used for distinction from other dollar-denominated currencies (though C$ remains ambiguous with the Nicaraguan córdoba). It is divided into 100 cents (¢). Owing to the image of a common loon on its reverse, the dollar coin, and sometimes the unit of currency itself, may be referred to as the loonie by English-speaking Canadians and foreign exchange traders and analysts. Accounting for approximately 2% of all global reserves, the Canadian dollar is the sixth-most held reserve currency in the world, behind the U.S. dollar, euro, yen, sterling, and renminbi. The Canadian dollar is popular with central banks because of Canada's relative economic soundness, the Canadian government's strong sovereign position, and the stability of the country's legal and political systems. History of the Canadian dollar The 1850s in Canada were a decade of debate over whether to adopt a £sd-based monetary system or a decimal monetary system based on the US dollar. The British North American provinces, for reasons of practicality in relation to the increasing trade with the neighbouring United States, had a desire to assimilate their currencies with the American unit, but the imperial authorities in London still preferred sterling as the sole currency throughout the British Empire. The British North American provinces nonetheless gradually adopted currencies tied to the American dollar. In 1841, the Province of Canada adopted a new system based on the Halifax rating. The new Canadian pound was equal to four US dollars (92.88 grains gold), making £1 sterling equal to £1.4s.4d. Canadian. Thus, the new Canadian pound was worth 16 shillings and 5.3 pence sterling. In 1851, the Parliament of the Province of Canada passed an act for the purposes of introducing a sterling-based unit in conjunction with decimal fractional coinage.