The Brexit vote adds yet another layer to the risk pressures that are building in the global economy in general, and Europe in particular. These pressures are bound some day to cause a fracture. Read Richard Nesbitt's commentary on Brexit vote in the Global and Mail.
For now, the Brexit vote raises many more questions than answers. And that is precisely the problem. With uncertainty comes risk, and more risk is what the global economy needs least right now.
Canada will not be immune. Britain is our third-biggest trading partner. Worse, a recession would again put the skids on oil and other commodity prices, bringing further pain to a big slice of our economy. The strengthening U.S. dollar is bad news, at least in the short-term, for many U.S.-based exporters, and thus for the Canadian companies that supply them.