Cost Of Being Canadian Calculated as 24% Higher

by Barry Artiste | June 12, 2008 at 05:16 am | 211 views | add comment | 0 recommendations

Opinion
Barry Artiste, Now Public Contributor
Canadians have always paid through the nose for goods from the US one only has to look at US Magazines and Greeting card prices where both Canada and US prices show a big disparity.

Of course now with gas prices hitting an all time high, perhaps Canadians hitting the USA for cheaper Cars and Trucks may be finally get a price break when eager Car dealerships in the US and Canada are trying to stave off Bankruptcy by a Tight market and a even Tighter Purse Strings Consumer looking for a bargain.

Cost of being Canadian calculated as 24% higherDespite dollar at par, U.S. retail prices still lower, report saysGerry Bellett, Vancouver SunPublished: Thursday, June 12, 2008
For the past year, the Canadian loonie has been on par with the U.S. dollar. So you might think consumers in both countries should be paying the same prices for the same goods.

But you would be wrong.

According to Bank of Montreal deputy chief economist Douglas Porter, who studied retailing price differences between Canada and the U.S. on 22 items, the Canadian consumer is paying an average of 18 per cent more for those items than the U.S. consumer.