A 6 percent slump in Chinese shares weighed on market sentiment, but was offset by firmer oil prices.
Oil rose further above $30 a barrel, lifted by hopes that OPEC and non-OPEC producers may be edging closer to a deal to tackle one of the biggest supply gluts in decades.
US Federal Reserve policymakers meet on Tuesday and Wednesday for the first time since raising interest rates in December. While no move is expected, investors will parse their statement to see how recent events have influenced the central bank's outlook.
At 9:10 a.m. EST (1410 GMT), the Canadian dollar was trading at C$1.4138 to the greenback, or 70.73 US cents, stronger than Monday's official close of C$1.4270, or 70.08 US cents.
The currency's strongest level of the session was C$1.4137, while its weakest level was C$1.4326.
The currency rallied 3 percent last week after the Bank of Canada surprised many traders by leaving its policy rate on hold. On Friday, it touched its strongest level since Jan. 11 at 1.4115.
Canadian government bond prices were lower across the maturity curve as the rise in crude oil prices supported the domestic economic outlook.
The two-year price was down 2.5 Canadian cents to yield 0.42 percent and the benchmark 10-year fell 12 Canadian cents to yield 1.257 percent.
The Canada-US 10-year bond spread was 2.4 basis points less negative at -75.3 basis points as Canadian government bonds underperformed.
Canadian gross domestic product for November is awaited on Friday, expected to reveal a rebound in growth after contraction in October.