Loonie drives Canadians to U.S. malls By Michael Babad, The Globe and Mail
“Armed with a pumped-up dollar, Canadian consumers are border hopping to hit the U.S. malls again.”
“Overnight travel by Canadians to the United States climbed 3.2 per cent in November, while overnight car trips were up by a sharp 6.2 per cent, to 1.1 million, Statistics Canada reports. Same-day trips by car – you drive to Buffalo, N.Y., or Bellingham, Wash., and load up – have also climbed steadily.”
“Armed with a lofty loonie (a US$0.987 monthly average), Canadians headed south of the border in droves during November, experiencing ‘Black Friday’ discounting first hand,” said senior economist Michael Gregory of BMO Nesbitt Burns. “This trend is likely to pick up in the months ahead as the currency has since strengthened above parity, and as America’s warmer southern climates attract vacationers and home buyers.”
