The Canadian dollar is worth less than the US yet things cost more there. Why?

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thingtwo

I know what you mean! Even when the Canadian dollar was better than the Us's, things in Canada were still more expensive. I asked my dad about it a few months ago, and he told me it was most likely because if they changed it every time the dollar changed it would be very time consuming, but I don't know if that is right or not. I think they should just make prices even, because our dollars are really not that far apart most of the time.

In response to the person who made the point of taxes, it varies from province to province. Alberta has no PST, and 5% GST, but Quebec has around 9% PST, plus the 5% GST. Also , it gets added on afterwards, so it shouldn't make a difference to the price on the tag.

Ivan

I feel there are several assumptions in this question:

- First, what do you mean by 'cost' more? Is this cost adjusted for exchange rate or are you just comparing the sticker price? Given the real cost of the product is the same in the US and CAN, if the CAN$ is worth less than the US$ than you will need more CAN$ to pay for the product.

- Depending on the province, Canadian sales tax may be more than the the sales tax in a given US state. With the exception of Alberta, the combined federal and provincial sales tax is in the double digit percentage rates. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area the typical sales tax is 8.75%.

- What type of product is it and what is its origin? Did the product have to be imported to Canada? Was it subject to import duties? These could affect it's base price.

Hope this helps.

John L

The US and Canadian economies are pretty closely connected, so if a C$ is worth 84 cents, it takes more of them than US dollars, $100 US is about C$120.

Another reason is that Canada has higher taxes and more government services than the US. The combined federal and provincial sales tax can be 15%, which among other things pays for health insurance for all Canadians.

LonelyMickey

There economy sucks. And canada rules, US drools.

Shaggy

if you mean that a bag of chips in the us cost like a dollar and in canada they cost like 1.80 then that's just the same value.

Bird Flippin' expecting #2

Because it cost more to print stuff in two languages.

tookie1436

They cost the same amount but they look different. Their the same amount of money but just more paper in the Canada & less in America... Hard to explain...

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