Prices Fall, Finally

As of late, the C.B.C.s website has been a major source for inspiration for my posts. This time, its an update about parity pricing. In the article, Prices fall though retailers warn deep cuts won't arrive until 2008 retailers are willing to finally bring some prices down. Also, they are willing to give discounts on most magazine and book prices. This has been one of the biggest concerns that Canadian consumers have been voicing their opinions on. This is definitely a good step forward.

As long as the Canadian dollar continues its rise or at least remains at a similar trading price with the U.S. Greenback, Canadians will eventually see some lower costs. But the recent high, described in Loonie closes above $1.07 US on strong job growth predicts an all time high of $1.10, which is definitely good for Canada's economy. However, our dollar has seen an increase against the U.S. Dollar, but really has not seen an increase versus other currencies. As a Canadian I am concerned about this. A lot of our goods for sale in the market are imported, and if we import from other countries, the exchange rate on those goods could be a great deal higher than the exchange rate between Canada and the U.S.. Right now, the U.S. Dollar is stronger against the Euro than the Canadian Dollar.

Another piece of good news, I have recently heard commercials telling consumers that prices are going down. It will take some time for prices to come down, but if its being advertised by retailers, it will happen. Thankfully the Canadian Media has been keeping up with the story and Canadian retailers are taking note. Nobody really wants to see consumers cross the border just for lower prices, but with reports of job growth on the rise, lower prices is more of a reality than a fantasy.

Granted that the job growth here in Canada is on the rise, we also have to look at producing more Canadian made goods at lower costs in order to sustain our economy. With an increase in competition in Canadian markets this can be achieved. I have studied economics, but I am no expert by any means, but increasing the supply of a good will help to bring down the price in the marketplace. Also there are many barriers to entry in the Canadian marketplace, if we want to sustain the current growth of our economy, more competition needs to be introduced. These barriers to entry should be reduced to encourage more competition into our markets.

Even though Canada has a smaller demographic in terms of population compared to the U.S., it is definitely possible to create more competition in today's marketplace. There are ways to gain entry into today's marketplace. The Canadian Government does have a program to aid entrepreneurs to start their own business, I still have to do some more research on this, but our government recognizes that we need to see more growth in our economy.

This is just my opinion and I do believe that Canada does have a roll to play in the global market place. Some of my suggestions could change the country for the good, but I am definitely not willing to run for political office. In the coming days and weeks, I will look at the larger picture of the Canadian economy, hopefully to gain a greater appreciation of the current competition and to look for little details that could improve our economy.