CAD to USD: Convert Canadian Dollars to US Dollars
Currency pair · 2026-08-22 · 4 min read
For Canadians, the CAD to USD rate is the one number that quietly prices half of everyday life: cross-border shopping, US streaming subscriptions, winter trips south, and anything bought online from an American store. Here is the live rate, and the parts of the conversion that usually cost people money.
CAD → USD live mid-market rate
How to read the rate
Rates are usually quoted the other way round, as USD to CAD, because that is how currency markets trade the pair. If 1 USD buys 1.35 CAD, then 1 CAD is worth about 0.74 USD. You divide instead of multiply. A converter handles the direction for you, but it is useful to know why the two figures look so different.
Where Canadians usually lose value
- Credit-card foreign-transaction fees, typically around 2.5% on top of the exchange rate itself.
- Being offered to pay in Canadian dollars at a US checkout or website. That is dynamic currency conversion, and the merchant sets the rate. Always choose USD.
- Airport exchange counters on both sides of the border, which price well away from mid-market.
- Converting small amounts repeatedly instead of once, which multiplies fixed fees.
What moves the Canadian dollar
The loonie is a commodity currency. It tends to strengthen when oil prices rise, because energy is a large share of Canadian exports, and to weaken when they fall. On top of that, the gap between Bank of Canada and Federal Reserve interest rates moves the pair constantly, which is why the rate you saw last month is rarely the rate today. What affects the exchange rate covers the mechanics in more detail.
How to convert Canadian dollars to US dollars
- Enter the amount in Canadian dollars (CAD).
- Read the converted US dollar (USD) value instantly at the live mid-market rate.
- Compare that against the rate your bank, card or exchange counter is quoting. The difference is what the conversion actually costs you.
Going the other way, converting US dollars into Canadian dollars, is covered in USD to CAD.