CAD to USD Forecast: Is it a good time to buy USD from Canadian Dollars

Only days into his second term, President Trump is injecting plenty of volatility into asset markets.

USDCAD gapped up on the first trading session of February, to near 1.4800 (stronger USD), when the White House announced double-digit tariffs against Canada. While this macro catalyst faded quickly when a temporary 30-day deal was announced, traders are remaining on their toes.

The rate has settled at the lower side of the recent trading range, at just above 1.430 (see below).

Will this level hold? Hard to say. Macro turbulence is set to increase, so this level could be tested in the coming weeks.

For the past few months, the Canadian dollar has weakened persistently. From C$1.345 to one USD last September, it now takes C$1.430 to acquire one USD.

The sharp retracement from the intraday peak at 1.480, therefore, could be a good chance for USD buyers to lock in the lowest rate in weeks.

You may, of course, wait for a further decline from here (to, possibly, 1.400). But given the backdrop of heightened FX rate volatility, I’m unsure if this will happen in the near term. The rate could easily rebound from this level.

If you need some USDs, buy some now and wait.

The US dollar has been strengthening since late 2022. This uptrend is now two-year old. Could this be near an inflection point?

The US central bank is eyeing the escalating tariff wars with increased uneasiness. For example, the president of the Chicago Fed, Austan Goolsbee, recently observed that “compared to 2018, tariffs may apply to more countries or more goods or at higher rates, in which case the impact could turn out to be larger and longer lasting.”

But what has this got to do with USDCAD? For one, these policies could impact the Fed’s monetary policy due to a rise in import prices. Inflation rate may increase. With it, America’s growth rate may slow.

Note how much USDCAD rallied on February 3 before retracing the entire advancement. The market suspects that these tariffs war may – eventually – impact the US economy.

Therefore, there is a possibility that USDCAD may trade at a lower level (favouring CAD) in the coming months.

Most brokers are favouring the CAD over the USD over the medium term.

As seen below, the rate is expected to drop in the coming quarters, below the key level at 1.400. Some are even expecting the rate to drop to as low as 1.300.

Will these forecasts materialise? Difficult to say, since there are so many macro variables on the horizon that could derail these predictions. The pace of Fed rate cuts is one; tariff negotiations another.

Where is the best place for buying large amounts of USD from Canadian Dollars

There are two different ways people buy USD from Canadian dollars:

• Through a currency broker – when transferring money abroad
• Through a forex broker – when speculating on the price of currency

You can use this comparison table of Canadian currency transfer companies to see how many currencies they offer, what the minimum USD transfer is and if they offer forwards and currency options as well as when they were established. You can either visit each currency broker individually or use our currency quote comparison tool to request multiple exchange rates.

Or, if you are more interested in trading CADUSD  you can compare Canadian forex brokers here.

How many USD does 1 Canadian Dollar get at the live exchange rate?

At the live current CADUSD exchange rate 1 CAD is worth 0.70123 USD which is a change of 0.15% from the previous day’s closing price. Over a week CADUSD is 0.15%, compared to its change over a month of 0.6% and one year of -4.7%.

CADUSD exchange rate data is updated every 15 minutes.