Why are things so expensive in Canada?

OK, I get that Canada simply does not have the population that the United States does, and therefore (so I have been told) that it is the biggest reason for price differences in Canada, but, please! Someone better get a grip, and grip it soon. Let me give you a shining example of this. Last month, my loving wife said that she wanted to change the interior layout of the home. (These words strike fear into any mans heart, and usually means that we spend several hours placing, replacing then positioning all of the furniture in one, two, three or four rooms, then, after working up a sweat, stubbing your toes on the coffee table that you moved 4 times, the little woman decides that everything needs to go back into its original position)

We (that being “She”) needed to have all of the furniture from the family room moved into the dining room, and visa versa. Thats fine. It’s just that we have Omnicam 6 ceiling speakers for our home theater, and that means that if you move all of your audio video equipment (yes you guessed correctly) your going to have to move all 7 speakers, re-cut holes in the ceiling in another room, then patch the original holes. Oh yea, not to mention that seven complete sets of 12 gauge speaker wire must now be snaked through another wall, then, move the speaker blocks that took you hours to set up. It would have been less costly and less frustrating for me to just take out one wall, and make the entire upper floor an open floor concept. I could sit in one room, and see the TV from the other. Too bad the wife doesn’t see it that way.

So lets get back to my rant and rave. I had a satellite installer come over to the house because we needed the dish moved, and the entire system hadn’t had any maintenance for over 12 years and I knew that in time, cables, their connected ends and other equipment that is outside in our climate can start to degrade. After the work was completed, we started talking about the price that we pay for satellite service in Canada. Because he is an installer, he see’s first hand the difference in price between Canada and the United States.

The installer said that he knows first hand why Canadians are upset. For $90.00 per month in Canada that you would pay to one of only two satellite providers, you can get that exact same channel line up, with much more choice for only $30.00 in the US. He said that he hears horror stories quite often about the poor choice and high price we Canucks are forced to pay. It doesn’t just happen with satellite signals. My wife and I were looking for a car for her in 2008. Her Acura had lasted her over 17 years, and was a faithful method of transportation.

We live right next to the US border, and when I say right next to it, we can drive down to the border in under 5 minutes. I phoned the closest Honda dealer just across the border and inquired about a new car. When they found out that we were Canadian, they refused to sell us a new car. They told us that it was to protect the Canadian Honda dealers. My next call was to the Infinity dealer in Phoenix,Arizona because I had heard very good things about the Infinity brand. Within 10 days, we purchased the car from a very polite, and professional salesman and had it delivered to our driveway in BC for a very reasonable charge. There was less than 10 miles on the odometer.

Get this, for the price of a fully loaded CRV in Canada, we got a fully loaded Infinity for the same price. Any questions? Nope, I didn’t think so. The price difference was so great that between what the dealer in Canada was asking for the Infinity and the price in the US, we could have purchased another fully loaded sub compact car in the US for me. Thats right. There it is in black and white. There is a disgusting price difference in a majority of what we pay for and what you can pick it up for in the US. I was talking to a woman a few months ago and she said that she bought her brand new diesel truck in the US, and saved close to $20,000 and she regularly goes across the line to the US costco, pays 30 to 40% less for here groceries, then, fills her truck up with fuel, and saves again at the fuel pump. She said Rick, how would you like a 30% raise in your paycheck. I said I would love it. She said OK, go across the line into the US for all your groceries, electronics, fuel, automotive needs or anything else that you can purchase, and there you have it.

That statement hit me like a ton of bricks. Pick almost anything that you would purchase in Canada, then compare it to the price in the US. I think you will be amazed at the price difference. I just heard from an acquaintance of mine that his father just bought a Jaguar in the states. It was last years model, but still brand new. The difference in price was $30,000.
When my wife and I were insuring her new car, the insurance agent told us that she had clients that left just 30 minutes before we got there, and they purchased a brand new motor home in the United States and saved over $50,000. Now, lets do some simple math shall we? If these folks are planning to full time in their brand new rig, and they now have an extra $50,000 because they bought in the US rather than in Canada, two people can easily live on $25,000 for one year if your rig is paid for, these lucky campers now have two full and complete years that they can spend travelling and having the time of their lives.

Please let me entertain you with another true story that happens in Canada. There is a new telephone company called Wind Mobile, and here is a wonderful comment from a page I found commenting on the new wireless phone provider, I will supply the link to the web site HERE, and the comment below.
The title of this comment is:WIND Already Benefited Me
By: iamjocanadian | Date: Thu, 12/17/2009 – 11:55
I had just opened a new account with Rogers for my wife’s phone last week and called Rogers within the 14 days to cancel stating that WIND was cheaper knowing that I would go right to Cust retention. Got them on the phone and knocked $20 off her bill /mo.

It does my heart good to see us ‘polite Canadians’ getting just a little hot under the collar. I think competition is great for everyone. We have had a monopoly in many areas for far too long in almost every service and or goods provider I can think of……… except medical. Well, thats where Canada shines. I love our medical system. It works better than a lot of other countries, and if we can strike a good balance with a two tier system, then we at least have learned how to properly manage one part of a medical service provider business model.

Below is one of the best questions and answers I have seen about the price differences.
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Why is everything more expensive in Canada than in the US?
I look at all the products here in the US such as books, and they are marked with the prices for the US, and the prices for Canada. But I always find the Canadian price to be higher. Why is that so?
2 years ago
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benz300c…
Best Answer – Chosen by Asker

There are three main reasons for this difference: taxation, economies of scale, and distribution costs. Because Canada has a better social welfare system than the US, taxes are higher at all levels and are therefore reflected in consumer product prices. The fact that the US has a population that is 10 times larger than Canada’s means that higher sales volumes are possible and therefore the unit cost is reduced. Lastly, the vast distances between markets (i.e. population centers) in Canada means that distribution costs more; there is not enough critical market mass to set up warehouses or distribution hubs in the larger empty spaces between markets.
2 years ago
taken from this web site.

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