The Canadian dollar is now a petro dollar tied to solely to commodities and the oil price; this is great for western Canadian firms dealing with commodities not named timber, but horrific for Central Canada and its manufacturing base. Global consumption + global growth/development = high demand for commodities and a high oil price = higher Canadian dollar vs. American dollar; higher Australian dollar vs. American dollar, etc. When things go south, investors don't buy Canadian treasuries because of its ties to commodities, they actually buy US Treasury bonds. This is why the Canadian dollar went down to 82 cents during the recession. However in the past two days, especially today with the Fed announcement, the reactionary panic-speculators who control these things have placed their money in gold and Swiss francs - the Francs less so today.