Here's an article from the Edmonton Journal about the closure of a Toronto Dominion Bank call center in the city, for a net loss of about 140 jobs.

Though this is a Canadian company shutting down a Canadian call center, there have been other Canadian call center closures that can be laid at the foot of the weak U.S. dollar.

Outsourcing to Canada (an important destination in the so-called "near-shore" outsourcing model) is no longer saving U.S. companies money due to the unfavorable exchange rates for the U.S. dollar.

A recent Datamonitor report covered on TMCnet by associate editor Patrick Barnard revealed that companies are truly starting to pack up Canadian operations. The most notable U.S. outsourcer to do so thus far is Cincinnati-based Convergys Corporation.

The Datamonitor report also cites a waning of interest in Canada in relation to the increasing interest in having Spanish-speaking agents on staff for the growing consumer base of American Hispanics. (Canada does not offer a labor force with a high percentage of Spanish-speakers.)

TES