Canadian dollar Canadian dollar The Canadian dollar (symbol: $; code: CAD; ) is the currency of Canada. It is abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or sometimes Can$ or C$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. It is divided into 100 cents (¢). Owing to the image of a loon on the one-dollar coin, the currency is sometimes referred to as the "loonie" by foreign exchange traders and analysts, as it is by Canadians in general, or in French. Accounting for approximately 2% of all global reserves, the Canadian dollar is the fifth most held reserve currency in the world, behind
Newfoundland 2 dollar coin 1949. Newfoundland began to issue its own decimal currency in 1865. The original plans for the new Newfoundland coinage suggested including a gold dollar. Over concerns that it would be easily lost as a result of its small size and value, the denomination of the gold coin was increased to two dollars. The resulting two-dollar coin had a diameter of 17.98 mm, the same as the ten cent coin—in comparison, a modern Canadian dime has a diameter of 18.03 mm. The obverse design had Queen Victoria. There was one principal portrait of Victoria, but a different one was used in