Winners and losers of the low Canadian dollar in Windsor-Essex

It may only be a few cents' difference, but when the gap between the Canadian and U.S. dollar grows, the people of Windsor-Essex feel the change. And right now, that gap is getting bigger.

The loonie recently hit a two-year low relative to the U.S. dollar, which is performing strongly compared with many other currencies.

As of Tuesday, the Canadian dollar stood just below 73 cents US. At the beginning of September, the loonie was worth around 76 cents US.

In a region with strong economic and social ties with Michigan, the dollar's recent tumble is playing out in different ways. 

For those crossing into the U.S. in search of bargains on gas and groceries amid inflation on both sides of the border, it means their dollars won't go quite as far.

People going to Detroit for a sports game, a night out or to visit family and friends will have to pad their budgets a bit as well.

"It's not a big margin … but does make it a little bit more expensive compared to say, one month ago," said Gurupdesh Pandher, a professor of finance at the University of Windsor.

Shoppers and tourists aren't the only ones affected by the changing tides of the dollar in our region.

The weaker dollar could actually help a major local employer, the manufacturing industry, according to Justin Falconer, CEO of the employment and community development group Workforce Windsor/Essex. 

"A lot of our products and services are exported to other countries, all using [the] American dollar as sort of the gold standard, and so there can be tremendous opportunity for Windsor-Essex companies who are exporting goods to take advantage of this low Canadian dollar because all of a sudden, our products become two or three per cent more competitive on every quote, on every every line," he said. 

"So, especially for existing contract holders who are paid in American dollars and it's all been pre-negotiated, they're now getting sort of a better margin as a result."

Many live in Windsor-Essex but work in Michigan, and they are also getting a bit of a boost when they convert their earnings back to Canadian.

"People who receive American paycheques and live and operate primarily in Canada are going to be big winners as the Canadian dollar continues to tumble against the American standard," said Falconer.

Right now, there's not a clear picture of how many people are getting this perk. The most recent estimate of the cross-border commuter population is from the 2016 census. At that time, 6,695 people had drawn income from outside the country, about 80 per cent of which Workforce WindsorEssex estimates are cross-border commuters.