Canadian consumers pay more despite dollar parity
Posted on 11 June 2008 by Jack
The loonie may be bouncing around parity with the U.S. greenback, but a new study has found that Canadians are still paying significantly higher prices than Americans for exactly the same consumer goods.
According to the findings of a BMO Nesbitt Burns study by Deputy Chief Economist Douglas Porter, Canadians are paying an average of about 18 per cent more on everyday items like books, coffee, CDs and diapers.
For example, the study found:
- A Coldplay CD that costs $12.99 in Canada, sold for $9.99 in the U.S., a difference of 30 per cent
- Huggies pull-ups cost $18.97 in Canada, a full $4 more than at American stores
- A Maytag washer and dryer costs about $350 more at a Canadian retailer than the same set sold at a U.S. store
“Looking at a broad basket of items, we find that while there has been some movement in the past year, the price gap remains extraordinarily large, and there are plenty of signs to suggest that the bulk of the discounting is over,” concluded the BMO report.
Popularity: 14% [?]
June 11th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
And gas too! An American gallon of gas=almost 5 litres….we are paying $1.42 a LITRE here in the Yukon. We have the lowest gas taxes in Canada and no, it is not linked to transport because our gas arrives by boat into the port in Scagway Al. - less than 100 miles away.
June 11th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
Unfettered Capitalism = Uncontrollable Greed…no story here folks…lets move on.
June 11th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
There’s always Walmart!
June 11th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Part of the problem is that everything sold in Canada must have bilingual labels and instruction manuals adding additional cost, thanks to the Trudeau lieberals.
June 12th, 2008 at 12:39 am
Canadian businesses will suffer because now is a great time to be shopping over the internet in the USA. With the dollar close to par and American goods cheaper by a half to a third, it is easy for me to shop over the internet than it is to drive to the local high priced businesses only to be told they are out of stock. I buy local if I can but anything I have to travel in Canada for, considering gas and time, it is not worth it.
June 12th, 2008 at 12:52 am
Many of the retailers are steamed. For instance, my buddy bought a Honda CRV for his wife. He was going to add a few accessories like roof rails etc. He researched on the Internet, got the part numbers and prices, then went to the local dealership where he bought the vehicle. They quoted prices some 30% higher. He asked why the website prices were different. They said those are American prices. He said meet them or I shop south of the border. They said their wholesale price is higher than the US retail price so they couldn’t match the price…. and he shopped in Seattle!
Until we, as consumers, demand better, this problem won’t go away.