Oct. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper reiterated today he shares Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney’s concern that the recent gain in the country’s currency could slow the rebound from a recession.

Carney “has been very clear about his concerns on the dollar and the possible effects it could have in terms of slowing the recovery,” Harper told reporters in Toronto today. “I share his concerns.”

Canada’s dollar reached C$1.0207 per U.S. dollar yesterday, the strongest level since July 29, 2008, capping a rally spurred by higher crude oil prices and a slumping U.S. dollar. The currency weakened 0.1 percent today to 1.0351 at 1:52 p.m. in Toronto from 1.0338 late yesterday.

Strength in the Canadian currency has coincided with a recovery in the real estate market. Existing home sales gained 1.5 percent in September from August to 42,958 units, an increase of 17 percent from a year ago, the Canadian Real Estate Association said yesterday in a statement.

Harper said it’s “too early to talk about bubbles,” and is more concerned about “making sure that governments don’t take the foot off the gas in terms of delivering needed stimulus.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Rob Delaney in Toronto at robdelaney@bloomberg.net; Theophilos Argitis in Ottawa at targitis@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 16, 2009 14:01 EDT