Talk:Canadian pound

Numismatics Mid‑importance

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Canada: Ontario / Quebec Low‑importance

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Nova Scotia[edit]

I haven't got the finer details to hand. But the situation described on the main article is further complicated by the fact that Canada at the period in question only constituted the two modern provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The other British North American colonies have their own stories to tell on this same issue. Having said that, the trend was generally to follow suit with Canada. Nova Scotia also adopted the American unit but with great reservation, whereas Newfoundland adopted the West Indian unit in order to give an easier conversion between cents and pence.

Regarding Canada itself, the discussions began in the early 1850's. The local preference was to align with the American unit for purely practical reasons. This was contrary to the wishes of the government in London. London exhorted Canada to formally adopt a sterling system, but Canada finally decided to choose a decimal system based on the US dollar. Canadian decimal coins were then minted at the Royal Mint in London. This was the last known case of the government in London attempting to influence internal affairs in Canada. Interestingly, the earliest Canadian postage stamps are denominated in pounds, shillings, and pence. The 3d beaver stamp is the most well known of these.

The parity between the Canadian Dollar and the US Dollar continued into the twentieth century. It wavered in the late 1920's due to Canada's lack of strictness in adhering to the gold standard, and the link was broken when Canada formally abandoned gold in 1931. The link returned again a few years later, but Canada devalued again on the outbreak of world war II pegging to the US dollar at a small discount in order to increase competition for Canadian exports.

The parity may have been restored again after the war for a few years. David Tombe (talk) 10:43, 15 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]