...and it was 2005.
Gasoline was 80 cents - and so was the Canadian dollar.
Was I in a Bill Murray movie?
And is there a connection between those two numbers?
Actually, yes. A barrel of oil was over $140 not so long ago. Now it's under $50. There isn't always a direct or immediate connection between the price of crude and the price of gasoline, but eventually one catches up with the other.
Ditto the Canadian dollar. The strength of our dollar is closely tied to the price of commodities - not just oil, but that's a biggie. At under $50 a barrel, the Alberta oil sands are barely worth it, and the gnomes in Zurich who control the world's currencies prices don't like that.
If the tar sands are shut down, it would cheer environmentalists, and those who understand that the only way to force North Americans into more fuel-efficient cars is to stop making gasoline free.
But it would be politically difficult, and Lord knows, we have had enough political difficulties in Canada over the past week.
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