What Canadians need to know about Brexit now

What you need to know about Brexit now

By MoneySense Staff on June 24, 2016
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Should you be worried? Here's what experts are saying

This article is 8 years old. Some details may be outdated.

[brightcove video_id=”6056479231001″ account_id=”6015698167001″ player_id=”lYro6suIR”] Britons have decided—well, at least, 52% of them—to leave the European Union after Thursday’s nail-biting referendum vote. Since then, Prime Minister David Cameron has announced his resignation and global markets have plunged into turmoil. Before the historic decision, experts warned that a “leave” result would trigger worldwide economic ripples. So…will they? Have they? Here’s what we know so far: • Prime Minister David Cameron has resigned, saying: “We trust the people.” Read his full speech here. • The British pound has tumbled, losing 10% of its value against the U.S. dollar. The pound hit its lowest point since the 1980s. • Here at home, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says that Canada is “well positioned” to weather Brexit turmoil. • However while we may not trade too much with Britain, what Canada should really be worried about is the soaring U.S. dollar. • And some economists say that Brexit could end up being a tempest in a teapot. In fact a shrunken Europe could be a buying opportunity for Canadians. • However, Advisor.ca says value investors should be wary, while the ultimate winner would be gold. • At The Globe and Mail, Eric Reguly says that investors are overreacting. It’ll take at least a couple years for Britain to truly extricate itself from the EU and the country could negotiate a deal with the union that’ll allow it to trade with the union. Regardless, this is uncharted territory and the only thing that’s for certain is more uncertainty to come. Investors hate that. • Either way, here’s what Brexit could mean for your portfolio. • And here’s five other things you’re probably wondering about Britain’s exit and how it’ll affect you. • Who else could flee after Britain? • “The Brexit result is a net negative for the global growth outlook, but it’s not a crippling blow…” Here’s what financial analysts are saying about the result. • There may be some time. Prime Minister David Cameron says that the government isn’t triggering Article 50 just yet. We’ll update more throughout the day. With files from The Associated Press.