Canadian sticker shock

[campigloo]

This is our first trip to Canada to amount to anything. We arrived in Calgary Tuesday afternoon. First shock was the gas pump. 82l of diesel for $152.00. I understand the exchange rate and all but I scraped my chin when I picked my jaw up off the ground. We went to buy beer today. $30.00 (22.50 American). At home it’s $12.50.
I know it’s just the way it is but geez; these people must make some serious money just to afford basics.

[Community Alumni]

Closed, this thread has gone way off the OP’s comments and intention.

Moderator

[pianotuna]

Hi western,

Yes. However the USA benefits by treating Canada as a huge "buffer zone". In the past there were major USA air force bases in northern Canada--which had the side benefit of allowing much larger air craft to be used for freight. You don't really expect a runway that can accommodate a Dreamliner in a community of 7000 souls.

westernrvparkowner wrote:

pianotuna wrote:
Hi,

One difference is that Canada does not spend 57 cents of every dollar of tax revenue on military spending. That is how our other programs are funded.

It is common knowledge that should Canada ever be threatened the entire power of the US military would defend our northern neighbor. You are welcome!

[wilber1]

$1.85 litre diesel in Alberta. I think your math is off. I paid $1.28 in Mission BC yesterday.

Fuel is more expensive in Canada and so are some other things but it also depends on which province and which state you are using as a reference for comparison.

[westernrvparkow]

Ralph Cramden wrote:

owenssailor wrote:

westernrvparkowner wrote:

Fizz wrote:
Lot of people here are hung up on this “free” health care issue.
Yes we pay more taxes, lots and lots over a lifetime.
BUT! I will never go bankrupt or lose my house because of a medical bill.
How many of you know someone in that situation?

Not me. The people I know are responsible enough to have health insurance. Which, by the way, every US citizen is required by law to have. And if you cannot afford it, the premiums will either be subsidized by the government or you will be enrolled in Medicaid with no premium to pay. The only reason a US citizen is without health insurance is because they are irresponsible.

A quick note on bankruptcies dues to medical bills.
https://www.cnbc.com/id/100840148

Another quick note. Just because some unfortunate soul comes down with a major ailment and ends up declaring bankruptcy, that does not equate to "losing your house", that's forum drama. In fact about 99% of the time, its declaring bankruptcy that allows one to keep their house.

Thank you. Also, what most people seem to either forget or gloss over is often the biggest reason for the financial trouble is not the medical bills but the fact that the person's illness has caused them to lose their ability to work and hence their income has been significantly diminished.
Most people do not have enough savings or carry disability insurance to cover a medically forced exit from the workforce. Social Security Disability does not come anywhere close to replacing most people's income. No country on earth says if you lose your job, we will replace all your income. Not Canada, not Switzerland, not the Good Ole USofA. The house payment, the car payment, the boat payment, the RV payment, the credit card payments, the utility bills and everything else doesn't care if you are sick and can no longer work. Those are what force most people into Bankruptcy, not the medical bills themselves.

[SideHillSoup]

campigloo wrote:
Man, some people are really uptight. I was shooting for a fun little topic and some people have to turn it into a hate fest. I have nothing against Canada, Canadians or your politics. We’re having an amazing trip and never meant to offend anyone.
Here’s to hoping the moderator will close this one.

I wouldn’t say we as Canadians are uptight on this issue you brought forward, we are just trying figure out how you paid so much for fuel in the cheapest fuel price province in Canada. :h
I think what you saw in this tread was a bunch of Canadians defending the prices of items by trying to give some background on howcome things are so expensive up here, compared to the USA.
Everything else just snowballed from there. :E
In saying that, there will most likely be a bunch of Canucks that get on here and totally disagree with what I just wrote, but that’s THIER opinion... :B
I have found out in these type of forums you can hit people’s tender nerve with the wrong placement of a word or a sentence, it’s very easy to do because everybody in the world see things in a different light.
Enjoy your trip :C
Soup.

[brulaz]

vjstangelo wrote:

...
One thing I can’t fathom is the cost of Canadian housing we see on HGTV. How can these folks afford $800,000 homes which seem to be the norm in Canada?

It's the big cities primarily, Vancouver, Toronto.

But I just got back from Seattle, and it's bad there too, and in San Francisco, New York. Sounds similar.

Smaller towns/cities are much more reasonable if you're lucky enough to get a job there. Our daughter just moved to Brandon, Manitoba and bought a nice place for around C$300K, that's about US$225K.

[thomas201]

Years ago I was working in Maine. At the border, Canadians were driving across the border, and buying gas in the US. Canadian oil, refined in Canada, exported to the US. They were steamed.

Me, I crossed the border, to get prescription drugs filled in Canada. US drugs, discovered in the US, made in the US, exported to Canada. I was steamed.

As a southerner, may I just say, "Bless the Governments (US and Canada) hearts" A southerner can translate that for you. The moderator would censor it out, if I wrote it in plain English.

[campigloo]

Man, some people are really uptight. I was shooting for a fun little topic and some people have to turn it into a hate fest. I have nothing against Canada, Canadians or your politics. We’re having an amazing trip and never meant to offend anyone.
Here’s to hoping the moderator will close this one.

[vjstangelo]

We love visiting Canada and will continue to do so. Yes, the fuel is more expensive, but the exchange rate differential does somewhat normalize things.

WRT free healthcare (rather no out of pocket), I’d be all for it. Likely it would never happen in the US given the amount of graft being spread about in the US among medical providers and the insurance companies.

One thing I can’t fathom is the cost of Canadian housing we see on HGTV. How can these folks afford $800,000 homes which seem to be the norm in Canada?

[brulaz]

dks wrote:
I will disregard the taxes, healthcare, military, and political arguments. Fact is the OP was shocked at the prices for fuel and beer. Compared to the USA, fuel and beer in Canada is significantly more expensive in Canada than the USA. I love the price of fuel and beer when we travel in the USA!

It may be where you travel, or what you drink.;)

Last winter down in S. Carolina & Florida, my favorite Rum was about the same price as Ontario's LCBO price. Sometimes higher.

But, yes, diesel was still cheaper (except maybe in Pennsylvania).

A while ago (5 years?), when the loonie traded closer to the US dollar, everything really was a lot cheaper down there.

[Ralph_Cramden]

owenssailor wrote:

westernrvparkowner wrote:

Fizz wrote:
Lot of people here are hung up on this “free” health care issue.
Yes we pay more taxes, lots and lots over a lifetime.
BUT! I will never go bankrupt or lose my house because of a medical bill.
How many of you know someone in that situation?

Not me. The people I know are responsible enough to have health insurance. Which, by the way, every US citizen is required by law to have. And if you cannot afford it, the premiums will either be subsidized by the government or you will be enrolled in Medicaid with no premium to pay. The only reason a US citizen is without health insurance is because they are irresponsible.

A quick note on bankruptcies dues to medical bills.
https://www.cnbc.com/id/100840148

Another quick note. Just because some unfortunate soul comes down with a major ailment and ends up declaring bankruptcy, that does not equate to "losing your house", that's forum drama. In fact about 99% of the time, its declaring bankruptcy that allows one to keep their house.

[dks]

I will disregard the taxes, healthcare, military, and political arguments. Fact is the OP was shocked at the prices for fuel and beer. Compared to the USA, fuel and beer in Canada is significantly more expensive in Canada than the USA. I love the price of fuel and beer when we travel in the USA!

[JaxDad]

westernrvparkowner wrote:

pianotuna wrote:
Hi,

I snowbird for 120 days per year in USA. I spend far more per month in the south than I do in Canada. If I pull out entertainment, I still spend more in USA per month than I would in the great white north.

One difference is that Canada does not spend 57 cents of every dollar of tax revenue on military spending. That is how our other programs are funded.

It is common knowledge that should Canada ever be threatened the entire power of the US military would defend our northern neighbor. You are welcome!

It’s also common knowledge that that “entire power” also includes NORAD (with a base in Canada even), the DEW line, the AlCan highway and the Northwest Staging Route (which allowed the US companies to make immense profits selling aircraft to the Russians) which contributes significantly to the US national security.

Don’t make it sound like some great favour to us, it allows the US to effectively project its northern frontier some 1,500++++ miles north.

[JaxDad]

southernsky wrote:
We just left Canada yesterday. Price of diesel was $4.50 US a gallon. $50.00 US for a $27.00 bottle of Capt. Morgan.

Im not sure what Capt. Morgan you bought, but in the most expensive Province, BC, the biggest most expensive bottle you can buy is the 1.75 liter (60 oz.) bottle of spiced rum, it sells for CDN$56.99, about US$42.75.

If you had bought it at the duty free on the way south across the border it would have been about CDN$44 or US$33.

A 1 liter (34 oz.) bottle of Jack Daniels is CDN$27 or US$20 currently.