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It’s long been common practice for Americans to head north for bargains whenever the Canadian dollar falls meaningfully below the greenback. During the current slump, they’re doing so from the comfort of their homes by shopping online from small-time Canadian merchants.

The Canadian dollar — the loonie — has fallen about 18 per cent against its U.S. counterpart over the past two years after flirting with parity several times in the last decade. At the same time, spending by U.S. shoppers using PayPal on Canadian websites jumped 20 per cent in 2015 from the year before.

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“The recent drop in the Canadian dollar presents an exciting export opportunity for Canadian businesses selling to American buyers,” Cameron Schmidt, PayPal Inc.’s Canadian general manager, said in an e-mail.

As the energy and mining industries struggle under the collapse of a decade-long bull market for commodities, Canada is turning to exports and tourism for growth. The expansion of online shopping allows that to happen without requiring Americans to dig out their passports.