TORONTO — The loonie fell against the U.S. dollar in late-morning trading as the U.S. imposed 50 per cent tariffs on roughly $28 billion worth of Canadian goods and President Donald Trump threatened even more.
The latest round of tariffs came after trade talks between Canada and the U.S. broke down on Friday night followed by fresh threats of tariff hikes on vehicles, auto parts and steel by Trump today.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.27 cents US compared with 72.67 cents US on Friday.
“There are only mild market reactions thus far. CAD is the weakest performing major cross to the USD to start the week but is only about half-a-penny weaker since Friday’s close,” said Derek Holt, head of capital markets economics at Scotiabank, in a note Monday morning.
He said weakness in the Canadian dollar was partially driven by lower oil prices and a “slightly firmer overall U.S. dollar.”
Sébastien Mc Mahon, chief economist at iA Financial Group, said in a statement that the loonie is one of the most shorted major currencies, “leaving much less room for further downside.”
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 15.03 points at 36,605.20.
Mc Mahon said the market reaction Monday is a signal that investors were not overly optimistic on the prospect of a U.S.-Canada trade deal.
He said technology stocks were providing some support for the TSX, while strength in gold prices was also helping.
The December gold contract was up US$51.40 at US$4,732.00 an ounce.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 157.59 points at 53,434.60. The S&P 500 index was down 11.76 points at 7,662.61, while the Nasdaq composite was down 95.70 points at 26,085.74.
The October crude oil contract was down US$2.16 at US$84.90 per barrel.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 24, 2026.
