As far as I know.. the businesses near the border will take either, but it would probably be better and easier to have Canadian dollars with you.

Where in Canada are you going, if I may ask?

Thanks Susan. My son will be attending smu in Halifax so we're taking him up.

That's a major change for him! I hope he enjoys Canada.. and I hope you get to enjoy your stay while you're here.

I went to Canada last weekend. You can use U.S. dollars most places, but you may get charged a premium higher than the exchange rate. The Canadian dollar is now worth about 5 cents more than the U.S. dollar. I was buying some food at a farmer's market and some of the places were offering me 90 cents Canadian on my U.S. dollars. If they take your U.S. money, they still have to take it to the bank and go through the hassle of exchanging it and paying an exchange fee. And if they wait much longer, the U.S. dollar is going to be even less! It's simpler if you just go to a cash machine and take out what you will need in Canadian funds.

If you want to know how shocking the decline has been on the U.S. dollar, about six years ago the Canadian dollar was worth 0.62 U.S. dollars; now it's worth 1.05 U.S. dollars. Could it be that the international financial markets have doubts about our track record?...unnecessary wars we can't afford, a collapsed housing market, and a Congress that has become dysfunctional. Somehow, the Canadians have avoided all that...and everyone has access to a functioning health care system that costs about $54 a month in premiums. I know because my daughter went to college in Vancouver, and now lives and works there, making about twice as much as she would in the same job in the U.S.

Yes Susan, I hope he knows what he's in for, lol. He went out there last winter to visit friends and he's been there once before, although he doesn't remember. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he hangs in there and applies himself.

That's a good idea kudzu, I might as well use the ATM machine. It'll be cheaper by the time I pay the exchange rate and fees here.

The US dollar has fallen a lot in the past few years. I see many Europeans taking advantage of this. Also many Canadians are returning to their homeland to work/study.

Hi Zeetera! I live in Halifax (really Dartmouth, but it is just the other side of the harbour). I would suggest you change your money before you get here or use the ATM or use charge cards. There have been times when you would have had the exchange at par, but I doubt you would find that now.

I see your son is going to SMU (two of my children are graduates of SMU). What will he be studying? Are you at all concerned about him being away from home?

Jane

Thanks cjd! I might just change up some before I go. I was saving up the US dollars to use but I'll just get Canadian now.

That's great that two of your children graduated from there! There are several people that I know who did also and they have top positions now. My son was talking about doing the Engineering program but he'll have to finish up either at the college next to smu (is it Dalhousie?) or go to England.

I may bug you closer to the time to see what type of weather you'll have at the time. I'll be coming from shorts and t-shirt weather and sometimes it's hard to think winter attire.

Thanks again.

Ask away, I'll be looking for your questions.

I wish you were coming to Ontario. I'd love to show you NIagara Falls.

In Canada, I believe we wouldn't get into a housing crisis, because mortgage rules are strict/conservative. The odd person whose circumstances have changed might lose their home, but the way the system is, I don't think we would face a major crisis. I'm not an expert, though.

Awh, thank you Susan. I've been there before but it's been a long time.

Same here. It's hard to get a mortgage here too, especially now, but some people are in a bind. A lot are struggling from loss of jobs, mainly due to the fall of construction.

Plus a lot built their houses with an income apartment and depended on the rent to pay their mortgage. And many rented to expats who are now going back to their own countries as their businesses close. It's our recession and we're hoping it's over soon. I've never seen so many properties for sale before.

It's one big vicious circle.

I visit Niagara Falls Ontario every couple of years. Take lots of US cash. As soon as I get accross into the town, look for a bank and change money there. You can also look for places that take Visa or Mastercard and charge stuff. Your credit card will handle the fees, which aren't that much.

Jannie, I remember going into a huge Walmart in Halifax and the prices were dirt cheap. Then when the charge card bill came, the charges were even less. That was when the dollar was .7 to ours.

I had no problem with US money in Vancouver. I charge everything in foreign countries. If you go to third world countries, they even accepted US, but they couldn't make change and we were advised to take lots of $1 bills for tips and sodas or you will end up spending $20 for a bottle of water.

We are US citizens, but have a summer home in Nova Scotia. We have opened a bank account in Canada which we use for checks that cover expenses in Canada. Another thing we have found helpful is to have a Capitol One credit card, because they do not charge a conversion rate when using it in Canada. Most other credit cards charge a 3% fee when converting the Canadian purchase to US funds. Halifax is a great college town!

Do you have passports? We use to travel all the time in Canada when we had the RV and always got Canadian currency before we left the US. Always used Canadian money or charged it. Better rates. If we needed cash, we went to a bank in Canada and used the ATM NO problems. Great people.
Marie
Prices are easy to figure. I use to just judge the amount roughly or asked.

I'd definitely bring a passport,too!