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.

[romore]

Welcome to my world. When we lived near the border we shopped at the Bellingham WA Costco, some things like milk were much cheaper plus the selection was so much better. I tried to time our trips for when I was low on fuel, even with the exchange rate I saved thirty bucks on a fill up.

[pianotuna]

There is something wrong with your math. 82 liters should be about 1.29 per liter or about $106 Cdn.

Be glad you were not in British Columbia.

If you ARE heading west, the last "cheap" fuel is at Lake Louise (not at the Husky, but at the Petrocan).

campigloo wrote:
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.

[MDKMDK]

We're glad you're enjoying yourself. We aren't being critical. We appreciate and respect your honesty. Especially since you're right about our prices. So, no worries.:C

Btw, Alberta is our least expensive province to visit, just to put things in perspective. :B

[Community Alumni]

We live on both sides of the border and have done so for many years. Over time it pretty much all balances out. :C

[camp-n-family]

We drink real beer in Canada not that watered down 'merican stuff :B That comes at a price.

[campigloo]

Many of you are totally missing the point and I do know that $152 Canadian
Is not the same as American. I’m not saying it hasn’t been a wonderful trip and have met some fantastic people. All it is is getting used to the difference.

[MDKMDK]

JaxDad wrote:

campigloo wrote:
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.

I suspect you messed up the mathematics somewhere in all of that.

GasBuddy shows that the current price of diesel in Calgary is about $1.25 / liter.

With a CDN dollar worth about US$0.75 that means it’s about US$0.94 / liter (US$3.55 / US gallon) so 82 litres would be about $102.50 CDN or US$77.08.

The math may be messed up, but where the OP comes from, a gallon of diesel is worth between US$2.75 and US$2.96. So US$3.55/gallon in Canada is a bit of a shock I'd imagine? Must have thought he made a wrong turn and wound up in Calgaryfornia. 🙂

[MDKMDK]

DrewE wrote:
You may have picked the two commodities that are the most obviously/significantly more expensive in Canada, as it turns out. That doesn't help when you mainly need to buy beer and gas, I realize; but most food staples and campgrounds and clothing and other stuff seems to me to be close enough to the same price that one doesn't need to worry about the difference when traveling.

Actually, we shop cross border for most of the stuff you've mentioned, because even with our tanking loonie, the prices are still lower in the land of the greenback after we convert our money. Electronics are an exception, although I bought the laptop I'm on right now in Michigan on sale at Best Buy. So, there you go.
Our government promotes tourism in Canada to our American cousins using their strong dollar as the best reason to come up here. They try to sell it as more bang for your US bucks. Simple math refutes that, though. If the forex rate difference is 30% but our price on something identical that you can buy at home is 50% higher, you're losing money up here. That's the reality of visiting a socialist country. It's like visiting a casino. Sometimes you win, but the odds are stacked in favor of the house.

[JaxDad]

campigloo wrote:
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.

I suspect you messed up the mathematics somewhere in all of that.

GasBuddy shows that the current price of diesel in Calgary is about $1.25 / liter.

With a CDN dollar worth about US$0.75 that means it’s about US$0.94 / liter (US$3.55 / US gallon) so 82 litres would be about $102.50 CDN or US$77.08.

[MDKMDK]

Crowe wrote:
I've traveled a lot in Canada and it's worth every penny. There is so much to see and do and it's a beautiful country with wonderful people. To me it's no different than plunking down well over $100 USD for a one-day visit to Disney

You calling us "Mickey Mouse"???
agesilaus is basically right.
We're paying for a lot of our "free stuff" by paying all sorts of other taxes on all sorts of unrelated things. Up here the politicians go after the sins, because they know it's essential stuff to most folks, and the $$$ are there. Alcohol, fuel, junk food, all have extra taxes, and then lump our HST/GST on top of that and you've got billions for the politicos to spend on whatever they choose.

[DrewE]

You may have picked the two commodities that are the most obviously/significantly more expensive in Canada, as it turns out. That doesn't help when you mainly need to buy beer and gas, I realize; but most food staples and campgrounds and clothing and other stuff seems to me to be close enough to the same price that one doesn't need to worry about the difference when traveling.

[Trackrig]

About six years ago when taking the MH north after we bought it, I took 97 gal in a 100 gal tank one night - the tab was over $500US.

Two things:

1. Use Gas Buddy just like you would in the States. Different Provinces have different tax rates just like different States do, so figure out if you want to fill up before or after you cross into another Province.

2. Again plan your fill-ups to locations / towns that are just a little bit larger. If they only have one gas station then they'll get you for what they can. But, if the place has two or three streets, then go back a street or two off of the highway, and those stations are always cheaper.

Bill

[enblethen]

Was the $152.00 Canadian or US?
Caculating that 82L converters to 21.662 US gallons and the exchange rate is 1.00 US to 1.33 Candian, it is not far from diesel costs here in eastern WA.
We found that costs here in WA are comparable to many locales in Canada.
We enjoy visiting our "Good" neighbors!

[paulj]

https://taxfoundation.org/how-high-are-other-nations-gas-taxes/

According to this Canadian gas taxes are about $1.25/gal, or about 1/3 the total cost. USA is $.53, one of the lowest. $3/gal is more common in other countries.

[HadEnough]

Crowe wrote:
I've traveled a lot in Canada and it's worth every penny. There is so much to see and do and it's a beautiful country with wonderful people. To me it's no different than plunking down well over $100 USD for a one-day visit to Disney or $500K on a MH. It is what it is. Sometimes you just have to put a sling under your jaw to hold it up.

Couldn't agree more.

Fuel is just cheap in the States. Most other places, it's not.

Did the op buy domestic (Canadian) beer or expensive imported (American) beer?