None of this was easy, but it did leave Canada’s economy in a better position to grow sustainably and to handle economic shocks. Our economic record over the past few years, even in the face of all the events I have mentioned, is testament to that. Now, let me talk about the role of the Canadian dollar in this long adjustment process.
On a day-to-day basis, there are a number of factors that can drive movements in the value of the Canadian dollar in foreign exchange markets. But my intention is to stick to a discussion of long-term trends. From this perspective, there were really two major factors at work on the currency in the 1990s.