OTTAWA (MNI) - Bank of Canada Deputy Gov. Pierre Duguay will retire from the Bank July 29, the BOC announced Wednesday, while separately announcing the appointment of Jean Boivin as deputy governor and member of the Governing Council.

Duguay joined the bank in 1973 and was appointed deputy governor in January 2000, the statement said, adding that the BOC will soon begin a search for a replacement.

Boivin has been a special adviser to the BOC Gov. Mark Carney since August 2009, focusing on inflation targeting and the Bank's monetary policy framework.

By Vicki Schmelzer

NEW YORK (MNI) - The Canadian dollar is one of the few currencies that has come within striking distance of retesting its January high versus the dollar in recent sessions, traders said.

Further loonie gains, if sustained, could have ramifications for other currencies, they said.

Dollar-Canada was trading at C$1.0266 Monday, after holding in a tight C$1.0253 to C$1.0289 range.

At the loonie high (dollar low) seen earlier, the pair was only 0.3% away from the 2010 peak of C$1.0220.

By Courtney Tower

OTTAWA (MNI) - Canada's government Thursday charted a soft landing from budget deficits and the global financial crisis, intending to wipe out accumulated budget debt of C$164 billion (US$160 billion) within five years, without planning either severe spending restraint or raising taxes.

By Courtney Tower

OTTAWA (MNI) - Canada's government Thursday charted a soft landing from budget deficits and the global financial crisis, intending to wipe out accumulated budget debt of C$164 billion (US$160 billion) within five years, without planning either severe spending restraint or raising taxes.

By Courtney Tower

OTTAWA (MNI) - Canada's government Thursday charted a soft landing from budget deficits and the global financial crisis, intending to wipe out accumulated budget debt of C$164 billion (US$160 billion) within five years, without planning either severe spending restraint or raising taxes.

By Courtney Tower

OTTAWA (MNI) - Canada's government Thursday charted a soft landing from budget deficits and the global financial crisis, intending to wipe out accumulated budget debt of C$164 billion (US$160 billion) within five years, without planning either severe spending restraint or raising taxes.

By Courtney Tower

OTTAWA (MNI) - Canada's government Wednesday announced a freeze on the salaries of the prime minister as well as all members of Parliament salaries and of the operating budgets of all government departments as a modest beginning to working down this year's national deficit of nearly C$60 billion,

By Vicki Schmelzer

NEW YORK (MNI) - Higher commodity prices served to underpin both the Aussie and Canadian dollars Tuesday, in the wake of the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision to raise rates and the Bank of Canada's decision to keep rates unchanged.

Both decisions were widely expected, although the call for the RBA hike was more iffy, traders said.

Overnight, the RBA raised the cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.0%.