If Quebec separates from Canada, premier Pauline Marois would want to keep the Canadian dollar in place and influence monetary policy after becoming an indepencent nation, reports The Globe and Mail.
Since the very first referendum in 1980, one of the Parti Quebecois’ mandates was to retain the Canadian dollar as Quebec’s currency, should the province ever become a sovereign state. In the lead-up to the second referendum in 1995, then-premier Jacques Parizeau made a similar statement.
The decision to keep the dollar is on par with those of other countries. Despite their independence, several other nations prefer to use another country's currency over creating a new one.
But it’s a somewhat different and more complicated story with Canada and Quebec. Given that there is much overlap between the economies and financial systems of Canada and Quebec, the sharing of a currency could create some issues.
In particular, a shared currency could lead to a shared, though not quite matched interest in setting interest rates, division of government debts, preventing bank failures, clearing payments and the management of the monetary supply.
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