{"id":845741,"date":"2026-09-12T23:24:25","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T23:24:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/845741\/"},"modified":"2026-09-12T23:24:25","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T23:24:25","slug":"despite-the-trade-war-some-consumer-prices-are-better-in-canada-than-in-the-u-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/845741\/","title":{"rendered":"Despite the trade war, some consumer prices are better in Canada than in the U.S."},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

At Walmart, some of the items that are cheaper to buy in Canada include Tylenol and cans of Coca-Cola.Christopher Katsarov\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Apple\u2019s release of new iPhones<\/a> this week confronted Canadians with a long familiar problem: sky-high prices. The top-end version of the new iPhone Duo will cost over $350 more in Canada than in the U.S. Such disparities have often turned Canadians into ambitious cross-border shoppers. <\/p>\n

But, at this moment, the iPhone pricing is an anomaly. <\/p>\n

After years of inflation, months of rising tariffs<\/a> in the U.S. and a weak loonie, it is Canada that is now the haven for cheap buys. <\/p>\n

Across a swath of goods \u2013 from home appliances to baby cribs, cashmere turtlenecks, Coca-Cola and pickup trucks \u2013 Canadian prices are consistently lower than those in the U.S.<\/p>\n

Analysis: Why Trump\u2019s new trade barriers are more bark than bite<\/a><\/p>\n

The Globe and Mail compared pretax prices this week for more than 40 goods using the websites of more than a dozen retailers that operate on both sides of the border. In some cases, such as the Storkcraft Beckett convertible crib in natural wood carried by Walmart, the same product is for sale in the U.S. for a higher sticker price than in Canada. Factor currency conversion, and Canadians can purchase that crib for nearly 40 per cent less.<\/p>\n

In Canada, the price of a Tesla Model 3 premium rear-wheel drive is nearly 45 per cent lower. Microsoft has priced the base model Xbox Series X nearly 10 per cent cheaper. A men\u2019s Patagonia Nano Puff hoody is 15 per cent less. A base-model Ford F-150 pickup sells in Vancouver, B.C., for $4,200 below the price in Vancouver, Wash., a difference of 8.5 per cent. For both a base-model Honda Civic and a top-spec GMC Terrain, Canadian prices are nearly 15 per cent lower. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile in the U.S., Home Depot lists a KitchenAid over-the-range microwave for US$1 more \u2013 making it 38 per cent pricier with the currency conversion. An LG French door fridge costs an additional 15 per cent. Banana Republic sells its featherweight cashmere Henley, a women\u2019s fitted top, for 10 per cent more and a pair of Nike Air Max 270 is 22 per cent costlier.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s true for bigger items is true for smaller items as well.<\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

The new foldable iPhone Duo is on display during Apple’s event this week at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino, Calif. The top-end version of the phone will cost over $350 more in Canada than in the U.S.Carlos Barria\/Reuters<\/p>\n

Triscuits are nearly a third cheaper at Safeway in Canada. <\/p>\n

And a Swiffer WetJet mop at Walmart sells for 20 per cent more in the U.S., a 500-caplet bottle of Tylenol extra strength gets a premium of 27 per cent. Even a 12-pack of Coca-Cola cans at Walmart costs nearly 30 per cent more south of the border.<\/p>\n

Retail pricing<\/a> is fraught with complexity. Sticker tags reflect wholesale costs, logistics expenses and market conditions. For many years, those worked against Canada. Retail consultant Clay Parnell recalled working with shoe retailer Aldo in the late 2010s. At the time, Canada\u2019s immense geography and smaller market worked against it. <\/p>\n

\u201cHistorically, Canadian prices have been higher,\u201d said Mr. Parnell, who is chief executive of The Parker Avery Group. <\/p>\n

No longer. At Aldo, the Kristof men\u2019s loafer is 14 per cent cheaper in Canada; the Ayrah women\u2019s ballet flat is 16 per cent less.<\/p>\n

Decoder: What trade war? Suddenly, Canadian consumers are looking healthier than U.S. shoppers<\/a><\/p>\n

Retailers in the U.S. have contended with higher rates of inflation and a blanket of tariffs, which have both raised import costs and offered cover for price hikes. \u201cOn the tariff side, most of it generally is being passed through,\u201d Mr. Parnell said. Some retailers, too, are raising prices even outside of tariff increases, padding profit margins. <\/p>\n

In Canada, meanwhile, the economy has tended to be more sluggish than the U.S. in recent years, while Americans on average enjoy a higher disposable income.<\/p>\n

Companies that sell across borders tend to price for local markets, \u201csetting prices based on local consumer demand and purchasing power rather than strictly converting currency,\u201d said Hakan Yilmazkuday, a professor of economics at Florida International University.<\/p>\n

He sees lower Canadian prices as a reflection of more straitened northern circumstances. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf companies fully applied the exchange rate difference, Canadian sales volumes would collapse. To maintain their market share, these retailers potentially absorb some of the currency penalty by accepting lower profit margins in Canada,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Six charts that explain Canada\u2019s countertariffs on U.S. goods<\/a><\/p>\n

Currency matters, too, of course. When major retailers set prices for a given country, \u201cthey do not change them very frequently,\u201d said Jeffrey Campbell, an economist at the University of Notre Dame. When the loonie drops, U.S. prices tend to grow more expensive by comparison. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is tempting to look at Canadian domestic developments as a source of loonie weakness, but in this case the fault is really in the stars rather than with ourselves,\u201d he said. The U.S. dollar remains a haven in times of risk, \u201cso while the Iran war has been good for the price of oil, it has also been good for the greenback.\u201d<\/p>\n

Price disparities between the U.S. and Canada have cycled as circumstances change \u2013 and today\u2019s price gaps will almost certainly be reshaped by shifting policies and economic performance on both sides of the border.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how Canada\u2019s countertariffs could hit your wallet<\/a><\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t the first time, either, that Canadians have found themselves with a price advantage. In the early 1980s, around the time of price controls imposed under the National Energy Program, gas was considerably cheaper in Canada. And Americans flocked north. <\/p>\n

\u201cI remember my Dad taking us from Detroit to buy gas in Windsor during that time,\u201d Prof. Campbell said.<\/p>\n

Nearly a half-century later, a raft of different circumstances has again tilted the pricing landscape in favour of Canada \u2013 at least, outside of the fuel pump and the Apple store.<\/p>\n

Add up the strong U.S. dollar, tariffs and less favourable economic circumstances in Canada, and the U.S. is now \u201cthe more expensive retail environment for many items,\u201d Prof. Yilmazkuday said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: At Walmart, some of the items that are cheaper to buy in Canada…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":845742,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[2428,2416,2429,4,2408,2430,28,103,2407,2422,2423,2418,2409,2406,101,526,192,2421,2414,2441,2410,2411,2420,2417,149,983,2431,2413,2436,2437,2439,2434,2438,2432,2435,2412,2425,2426,111,2424,2433,2415,74,2427,2419,194,965,2440],"class_list":["post-845741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-alberta","tag-arts-news","tag-bc","tag-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news-video","tag-british-columbia","tag-business","tag-canada","tag-canada-news","tag-canada-sports","tag-canada-sports-news","tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","tag-canadian-breaking-news","tag-canadian-news","tag-economy","tag-education","tag-environment","tag-federal-government","tag-foreign-news","tag-globe-and-mail","tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","tag-government","tag-life-news","tag-lifestyle","tag-local-news","tag-manitoba","tag-national-news","tag-new-brunswick","tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","tag-northwest-territories","tag-nova-scotia","tag-nunavut","tag-ontario","tag-pei","tag-photos","tag-political-news","tag-political-opinion","tag-politics","tag-politics-news","tag-quebec","tag-sports-news","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-trudeau","tag-us-news","tag-world-news","tag-yukon"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=845741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845741\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/845742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=845741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=845741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=845741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}