The tumbling value of Canada's currency has business owners and communities in northern Montana concerned.

Plagued primarily by plummeting oil prices, the Canadian dollar reached its lowest value in six years recently. That means Canadians must spend more on American goods and services.

The Flathead Beacon reports ( http://bit.ly/1zrQFT4) that more than 913,000 Canadians visited Montana annually in recent years, collectively spending $275 million on average.

Concerns about reduced Canadian spending cast a cloud over this past week's annual Flathead Valley Economic Forecast event at Flathead Valley Community College.

Brad Eldredge is director of Institutional Research, Assessment and Planning at the college.

Eldredge described the situation as one of the largest risks facing the local economy in 2015.

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