2008 was my 1st year of active investment. I managed to save my head thanks to the CDN vs USD exchange. (I bought most of my stock when both $ were equivalent and sold at about 20% exchange in my favor for a total modest yet very respectable +10% profit.)

2009 revealed much less stable than anticipated by 2008 year-end. I decided not to rely on CDN/USD variation to make profit. Until the Canadian Dollar stabilizes, I will favor 1st Canadian stock to minimize surprise.

I bought Paladin Labs (PLB.TO) which is a young company, a bit risky, and Fortis (FTS.TO), less aggressive but stable (although debt increased recently but nothing to panic yet).
Fortis have a 64% Debt to Capital ratio, which is roughly (within 4%) of the industry average,

So far, I am about 2% up thanks to Paladin Labs. :-)