Canada Currency and Money Guide

The Canadian dollar and the US dollar share a name, a symbol and nothing else. They are separate currencies, the rate between them moves, and a price that looks familiar is not the price you will pay at home. This guide does not publish a rate, because a rate in a guide is out of date by the time anyone reads it. Look it up on the day.

Cards work almost everywhere

Contactless payment is normal across the country, in taxis, in coffee shops, on transit and at park gates. For most visitors the sensible approach is to pay by card and carry a small amount of Canadian cash for the few places that want it: a rural parking machine, a farm stand, a tip left in cash for housekeeping. Withdraw that cash from a bank machine on arrival rather than buying it at an airport bureau, and check with your own bank first about foreign transaction fees and about what it charges for a withdrawal.

When a card terminal offers to charge you in US dollars instead of Canadian, decline it. That convenience is a conversion done by the merchant's processor at a rate it chooses, and it is almost always worse than letting your own card issuer do it.

Tax is added at the register

The shelf price is not the price. Sales tax is applied at the point of sale, the rate is set provincially and the arrangement differs from province to province, so the same item costs different amounts in Halifax, Calgary and Montreal. Budget for the total being more than the label, and check the provincial revenue authority if a specific rate matters to you.

Tipping

Tipping in Canada works much as it does in the United States and is a strong social expectation rather than a legal one. Card terminals in restaurants and bars usually present suggested amounts before the payment completes, and you are free to choose a different figure or none at all. Check the bill before you add anything, because a service charge is sometimes already included for a larger group.

What costs more than you expect

Three things routinely catch American visitors out. Alcohol is taxed heavily and sold through provincial systems, so a bottle of wine costs noticeably more than at home. Mobile roaming can be expensive unless your plan explicitly includes Canada, and it is worth checking before you cross rather than after. And medical care is the big one: the FCDO tells British travelers that treatment can be very expensive and that there are no special arrangements for them. Canada has a public health system and it is for residents. Carry insurance that covers treatment and medical evacuation, which is what both the FCDO and the CDC advise.

Sources

• Canada Border Services Agency: Travel documents: the page is sectioned by who the traveler is, and the section for US citizens records that to prove identity and citizenship, regardless of age, the agency recommends traveling with a valid passport, that other documents showing full name, date of birth and citizenship may be presented instead or in combination, that a separate photo identification may be asked for where the proof of citizenship carries no photograph, and that a border services officer determines admissibility on arrival. The Electronic Travel Authorization is set out separately, under international travelers other than US citizens and permanent residents, together with a warning that companies charging a fee to help obtain one do not act for the Government of Canada. Accessed 17 September 2026.
• UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Canada health: the record that the emergency medical number is 911 and that a caller should ask for an ambulance, that medical treatment can be very expensive with no special arrangements for British visitors, that travel insurance should cover local treatment and unexpected medical evacuation, and that altitude sickness is a risk in parts of Canada including skiing and hiking destinations in the Canadian Rockies such as Banff and Lake Louise. Accessed 17 September 2026.