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| October 11, 2005 |
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| The business panel remains opposed to adopting the U.S. dollar—about the same small majority opposition as in 2002 and 2003, when the loonie was less valuable than today. Though remaining opposed, panellists nonetheless feel that now, when the loonie is strong, would be a good time to adopt the greenback if indeed Canada opted to do so. The panel remains opposed to monetary union for political-symbolic reasons and because it would mean the loss of influence of the Bank of Canada. Many respondents volunteer that they would not oppose monetary union if it entailed the adopted of a new multinational currency, for example, the “Amero,” but not just to adopt the U.S. dollar. They do not expect Washington to embrace creation of a new currency. Among the reasons for adopting the U.S. dollar, the most persuasive is that most exports go directly south of the 49th parallel. Almost half of respondents see this as a good reason to consider monetary union. Far fewer consider as valid reasons for monetary union either the adoption of the U.S. dollar to forestall the impact of Dutch disease or to avert conflict with Alberta as a result of the positive impact on the western oil and gas sector of changing exchange rates and the latter’s negative impact on central Canadian manufacturers. The panel would prefer the loonie to decline in value but predict that it will continue rising instead. Despite an opposition to monetary union, panellists nonetheless anticipate that half of Canadian firms will do their planning and forecasting in American currency within the decade. These are the key findings from this week’s web survey of CEOs and business leaders undertaken by COMPAS for the Financial Post under sponsorship of BDO Dunwoody LLP and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. |
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