<p>Anyone considering McGill should be aware of the collapse of the US dollar compared to Canadian currency. When my daughter started two and one-half years ago the exchange rate was 1.22 to 1.00, so $13000 Canadian tuition cost
$10655 in US dollars. This morning the dollar has declined to .935 cents Canadian, so the same tuition costs $13903.
(But banks will not even give you .935, so assume $14100 as the best case).
Of course, all other costs, such as fees, room and board, books suffer from the same conversion rate. The rate is the lowest in living memory.</p>
<p>I have no idea how low the current US administration plans on driving down the value of the US dollar as part of their fiscal policy, but the extra costs should figure in your comparison of the value of education when you compare college choices.</p>
<p>one can only hope that as soon as we get a democrat in the white house next year (fingers crossed), things will turn around. thats assuming the election is honest.</p>
<p>I actually had a wad of $200 USD and thought of going to the foreign money exchange place. I opted not to since I thought the conversion rate wasn't worth it. back then i think it was 1.05 CAD for 1 USD. the next week it plummeted. :(</p>
<p>ugh, Canadian tax.... was going to buy an xbox 360 but found out that I needed $54 dollars on top of the hefty $400 here in Canada. Preposterous!</p>
<p>To think I actually had anything to complain about back in 0 tax New Hampshire.....</p>
<p>Yeah I had some cash saved up to use for Christmas presents and I finally just bit the bullet and exchanged it because I'm afraid it'll go down even more. </p>
<p>And prices haven't even adjusted making coffee ridiculously expensive. It makes me sad. And it makes my bank account sad too.</p>
<p>amen to that sister! I think that was a wise move, seeing as no matter what, the USD is bound to go down further as time progresses. I wonder how long its going to be before the prices start adjusting here. </p>
<p>NoelleMarie and 1mike12: I am curious as to why do you think prices will adjust? The costs of imported goods from the US will go up certainly, but you seem to imply that the price of goods in Montreal will adjust downward to reflect the US dollar. The US administration is driving the dollar down to make our exports more competitive.
Prices may adjust on specialized bulk Canadian goods, such as pulp wood, to remain competitive with US supplies, but since most consumer products are no longer made in the US, I dont see the price of clothes, coffee, etc. declining. There is no reason I know of for rents or food to be anything but more expensive for international students. The only solution is to get a part-time job and earn Canadian currency until US policy changes.</p>
<p>But, I am not an economist (I did stay at a Holiday Inn once). What are your thoughts?</p>
<p>There's no question that prices will adjust in Montreal. Most, if not all, Canadian prices are always created relative to their American counterparts, and most of the canadian's I've talked to are expecting a price adjustment as if it's happened before (and it kinda makes sense...I'm not sure why). Economically, what's happening in the US is catastrophic, however it seems to only just be bad for us. A few people I've been talking to, though, seem to think that the change in leader currency will actually prove negative in the long term (a theory that isn't completely unbelievable).</p>
<p>My personal experience with living in Canada (25 years past) is that it is that businesses are not as flexible in their pricing as in the US. Perhaps this comes from the economies of scale of a country with a population of only 30 million or so, perhaps businesses deal with a different tax structure then in the US, or perhaps there is just not the desperate drive to make a buck. As an American living in Canada, I found it frustrating and felt ripped off a lot of the time. Not only the prices were higher, but the sales taxes were much higher, also. Now the sales taxes are even higher. But perhaps having things more expensive means that you are wiser with spending and take more care with money in general. For many in the US cheap goods have not seemed to do much more then create the desire for more cheap goods.</p>
<p>That being said. It would be really lovely if the C$1 went back down to US$.65. We stayed in some great hotels in those days and going out to eat was glorious. My poor d., who earned her spending money is $US, is feeling the pinch right now. Fortunately, most of the tuition/room & board money was already in $C, but next year is a different story.</p>
<p>The U.S. is not trying to make exports more competitive. Bernake and Co are trying to bail out their pals on Wall Street by injecting liquidity into the market. </p>
<p>Anyhow, Importers/wholesale distributors in Canada should lower their prices (in the long run), but will resist as long as possible.</p>