Article content

A decade ago, Canada set out to become an energy superpower. Now, it enters 2016 riding down one of the world’s most battered petro-currencies.

When the clock struck midnight on Dec. 31, the loonie officially recorded its longest and deepest downturn since it became a floating currency in 1970. And there’s no relief in sight.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Canada in 'identity crisis' amid petro-state concerns Back to video

The loonie’s 16 per cent decline against the U.S. dollar over the past year marks its third straight annual decline. The currency has lost more than a quarter of its value since 2012, falling to 72.27 U.S. cents from $1.01. That’s almost a penny a month.

In the 45 years since Canada ended its currency peg to its largest trading partner — a period spanning two votes on Quebec separation, a full-blown fiscal crisis, a previous Saudi-engineered oil price rout and several recessions far worse than the shallow contraction early last year — no dollar depreciation has been this bad for this long.

Canada, the envy of the world for weathering the 2008-09 global financial crisis better than almost any other developed country, has suddenly lost its footing in the global economy. The high oil prices and increased oilsands production that fuelled growth for a decade look unlikely to return soon, prompting an unusual level of soul-searching about just what kind of economy the country has built.