For years the Canadian dollar or Loonie, as it's affectionately known in Canada was never the popular kid at the worlds currency party.
In fact it hasn't danced shoulder to shoulder with it's u.
s.
counterpart since Nov 25th 1976.
1976 was a great year for parties .
Party folk in Montreal and Canada celebrated as Montreal hosted the Olympic summer games.
Buffalo Bills fans partied hard as running back , O.
J.
Simpson led the league in rushing yards for the fourth time.
In fact the last time the Canadian dollar was at parity with the greenback was Nov 25th 1976 , The same day O.
J rushed for 273 yards against Detroit.
Detroit party goers heard party anthem, "Detroit rock city" by Kiss for the first time in 1976.
The 8 track was selling for $ 6.
00 or $ 21.
41 in 2007 dollars.
Like all good parties, the party for the Canadian dollar began to wind down in 1976.
In November 1976 Quebec separatist Rene Levesque and his Parti Quebecois swept into power in Quebec's provincial election.
The party for the Canadian dollar ended, as this loud uninvited guest threatened to remove Quebec from Canada.
Many factors led to the Loonie's precipitous fall from parity in 1976 to it's low of 61.
79 cents U.
S.
in January 21st, 2002.
The threat of Quebec separation, falling oil prices, and ever growing Canadian Government deficits.
Not to mention an ever growing American economy.
Well , 2007 has been good to the Canadian dollar .
the Quebec separatist movement is currently at bay.
The party for the Loonie is pumping up the jam with record commodity prices, strong jobs data, and Federal balanced budgets.
The good news for the Loonie is also a direct result of the bad news the U.
S.
dollar has been experiencing.
The U.
S.
greenback has been hit hard with a three punch combination.
This summers credit crisis, a weakening job market, and the Central Bank's lowering of interest rates, have all caused the Greenback to stagger.
Parity is great news for Canadian consumers who cross the border to go shopping.
particularly if you happen to be shopping for a new car.
Manufacturers suggested retail prices or MSRP's have not yet been adjusted to reflect the Loonie's newly minted parity.
New cars are currently about 17 % cheaper in the U.
S.
than in Canada.
Parity is bad news if you're an Oil company executive who's Christmas bonus is tied to Corporate profits.
As oil is priced in U.
S.
dollars any hit to the Greenback is a hit to profits.
Oil sold today at $ 80 USD /barrel is equivalent to oil sold at $ 52 USD/barrel three years ago when the exchange was 65 cents U.
S.
For Canadians vacationing in The U.
S.
, parity is a welcome event.
Traditional expensive hot spots like Hawaii, are now much more affordable to Canucks seeking relief from the cold Canadian winter.
Canadians who have invested in U.
S equities over the last couple of years will see an erosion of profits as the Loonie gains strength.
For example, if a stock worth $ 1.
00 U.
S.
cost you $1.
15 CAD , and that stock saw an increase of 15% your profit will now be gone due to the stronger Loonie.
Conversely if you've been thinking about investing in U.
S equities there's no time like the present.
The strong Loonie is making a lot of Yankee stocks attractive buys right now.
If the Canadian dollar should fall against it's U.
S.
counterpart, It's all good.
Any gains in the equity price will carry the added profits brought by the gain in the U.
S currency.
Personally, I'm looking for two things to buy with my Canadian dollars.
A good American stock trading below it's intrinsic value, and a good pair of platform shoes.
I'm going to take the money I make from my new U.
S.
investment, my new shoes, and party like it's 1976.
Anyway that's my two cents on U.
S.
dollar parity.