Canada's dollar strengthened to an eight-week high of 1.39 per U.S. dollar after July employment rose by 75,100 and the unemployment rate fell to a two-year low of 6.4%, underscoring labor-market resilience even as wage growth slowed and trade uncertainty persisted. The gain far exceeded expectations, with Bloomberg-survey economists looking for 20,000 new jobs and a Reuters poll forecasting 16,500, while the jobless rate had been expected to hold at 6.5%. Hiring was led by the private sector and self-employment, with full-time and part-time work both increasing, and Ontario anchoring the national expansion with a 52,000-job gain. The strong report contrasted with a 23,000 decline in U.S. payrolls, helping narrow Canada-U.S. yield differentials and temper expectations for further Federal Reserve tightening. At the same time, easing wage growth and still-elevated unemployment relative to normal levels supported market expectations that the Bank of Canada will leave its key policy rate at 2.25% on September 2.