when did canada change from pounds to dollars
the mid-19th century
title: History of the Canadian dollar text: of £1 equal to $4.85. The legislation repealed similar legislation enacted a few years earlier by the former colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia prior to their union. Prince Edward Island shifted to decimal currency in 1871, with the dollar replacing the Prince Edward Island pound. By statute, dollars and cents were adopted as the unit of account for the colonial government. The statute also set the exchange rate between sterling and the dollar at £1 equal to $4.8666. The colonial government was authorized to arrange for the printing of notes denominated in dollars, and the issuance of copper title: Canadian dollar text: authorities in London still preferred sterling as the sole currency throughout the British Empire. The British North American provinces nonetheless gradually adopted currencies tied to the American dollar. In 1841, the Province of Canada adopted a new system based on the Halifax rating. The new Canadian pound was equal to four US dollars (92.88 grains gold), making one pound sterling equal to 1 pound, 4 shillings, and 4 pence Canadian. Thus, the new Canadian pound was worth 16 shillings and 5.3 pence sterling. In 1851, the Parliament of the Province of Canada passed an act for the purposes of introducing title: History of the Canadian dollar text: and then the Province of Canada; the New Brunswick pound; the Newfoundland pound; the Nova Scotian pound; and the Prince Edward Island pound. They were all gradually replaced with decimal systems of currency linked to the US and Spanish dollars. Following the union, the Province of Canada adopted a new system based on the Halifax rating. The provincial legislation set exchange rates for a new Canadian pound: one pound, four shillings and four pence Canadian was equal to one pound sterling. Described the other way, the new Canadian pound was worth sixteen shillings, five and three-tenths pence sterling. The legislation title: Canadian pound text: Canadian pound The pound (symbol £ or C£) was the unit of account for currency of the Canadas until 1858. It was subdivided into 20 "shillings" (s), each of 12 "pence" (d). In Lower Canada, the "sou" was used, worth penny. Although the pounds, shillings, and pence accounting system had its origins in the British pound sterling, the Canadian pound was never linked to British currency. In North America, the scarcity of British coins led to the widespread use of Spanish dollars. These Spanish dollars were accommodated into a pounds, shillings, and pence (£sd) accounts system, by setting a valuation title: Canadian pound text: the name of "royal". However, in 1857 the decision was made to introduce a decimal coinage into Canada in conjunction with the US dollar unit. Hence, when the new decimal coins were introduced in 1858, Canada's currency became aligned with the US currency, although the British gold sovereign continued to remain legal tender at the rate of £1 = right up until the 1890s. In 1859, Canadian postage stamps were issued with decimal denominations for the first time. In the year 1861, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia followed Canada in adopting a decimal system based on the US dollar. In