Calgary Dollars is a
local currency
In economics, a local currency is a currency that can be spent in a particular geographical locality at participating organisations. A regional currency is a form of local currency encompassing a larger geographical area, while a community curren ...
in
Calgary, Alberta
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
, Canada. While functioning as a limited form of currency within Calgary, it is not
legal tender
Legal tender is a form of money that courts of law are required to recognize as satisfactory payment for any monetary debt. Each jurisdiction determines what is legal tender, but essentially it is anything which when offered ("tendered") in ...
nor is it backed by a national government. Instead, the currency is intended as a tool for
community economic development as well as a focus for
community building
Community building is a field of practices directed toward the creation or enhancement of community among individuals within a regional area (such as a neighborhood) or with a common need or interest. It is often encompassed under the fields of c ...
and local resiliency.
Overview
In 2018 Calgary Dollars launched a digital component with a new online listings platform, app for iOS and android and a new website.
It comes in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 25, and 50 Calgary Dollars. The bills are printed on a
plastic
Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...
material in the same dimensions as the
Canadian dollar. In print, the currency is commonly
abbreviated
An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters or words taken from the full version of the word or phrase; for example, the word ''abbrevia ...
as "C$".
The currency was founded in 1995 as a project of The Arusha Centre in Calgary. The project was originally called the "Bow Chinook Barter Community (BCBC)", and the currency was named the "Bow Chinook Hour". In 2002, the "Bow Chinook Hour" currency was replaced with "Calgary Dollars" (which was also adopted as the new name of the project).
The Calgary Dollars organization considers its local currency to be implicitly sanctioned by the
Canada Revenue Agency
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA; ; ) is the revenue service of the Canadian federal government, and most provincial and territorial governments. The CRA collects taxes, administers tax law and policy, and delivers benefit programs and tax cre ...
(CRA) based on a CRA publication which discusses the taxation of "credit units possessing a notional monetary unit value" used as a medium of exchange by local
barter
In trade, barter (derived from ''baretor'') is a system of exchange in which participants in a transaction directly exchange goods or services for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money. Economists disti ...
groups.
Calgary Dollars Rebranded with a new logo in March 2018 with the slogan: "Get Local. Make Money."
See also
*
BerkShares
*
Complementary currency
A complementary currency is a currency or medium of exchange that is not necessarily a national currency, but that is thought of as supplementing or complementing national currencies. Complementary currencies are usually not legal tender and thei ...
*
Ithaca Hours
*
Toronto dollar
*
Bristol Pound
References
External links
Calgary DollarsThe Arusha CentreCalgary Dollars Marketplace
{{Canadian Paper Money
Private currencies
Local currencies of Canada
Economy of Calgary