James Powell

After trading near parity for a decade, the loonie zigzagged through the 1980s, weighed down in the first half by weaker commodity prices, takeovers by foreign companies and a strong greenback, according to "A History of the Canadian Dollar," written by James Powell, chief of international research at the Bank of Canada.

The loonie touched a record low in February 1986 of 69.13 Canadian cents to one U.S. dollar, before the currency started to rise, helped in part by a rebound in commodity prices, expansionary fiscal policies and monetary-policy tightening aimed at cooling an overheated economy and reducing inflationary pressures, Powell wrote.

History of the Canadian Dollar - James Powell: Bank of Canada

2. For further information, see James Powell, A History of the Canadian Dollar, http://www.bankofcanada.ca/en/dollar book/index.html; also available from Publications Distribution, Bank of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0G9.

James Powell - Bank of Canada