Canadians are at this point charged more in part because they’ll pay more, just because they’re used to doing so. It’s a great case of price discrimination (which is an economic term of art.)
In particular, Canadian banks did quite well, having been more tightly regulated during the “stupid times” before the crash. To the extent that having healthy banks helped the broader Canadian economy, Canada’s economy was healthier.
Add to that that insecurity in the banking system elsewhere prompted inflation fears and a flight to commodities. Commodities industries (mining/oil/&c) form a larger fraction of the Canadian economy than most other first-world countries, so that had a bit of a boost.
That is pretty much it. Oh, there may be some ancillary issues like import duties or special labeling, but it seems everything comes back to we pay more because we’re willing to pay more.
The shoes I’m wearing right now I bought at a Payless show store in Port Huron Michigan for $35, after exchange. When I returned to Ottawa I saw the exact same pair in a Payless shoe store here for $50 plus tax, or about $57. That doesn’t sound like much, but when EVERYTHING is more expensive by that factor it kinda sucks.
Canada survived the mortgage fiasco in the USA quite well for two simple reasons.
First - CMHC. This is the government corporation that insures mortgages. Banks pretty much require this mortgage insurance (I believe it is a rquirement for their outstanding debt to be secured this way). CMHC never allowed the crazy “innovations” like exploding ARMs that were common south of the border. The big banks, of course, did not spend a lot of time chasing customers who could not qualify for the insurance. The requirements were relaxed from mandatory 10% down to 5% down. (I think for a while they allowed 0% down but only in special circumstances). They recently disallowed 30-year mortgages, IIRC. You couldn’t get a mortgage unless they insured it. So not a lot of overextended customers - so far.
Second - Canada does not allow deduction of mortgage interest from income tax for personal residences, only for investment properties as part of a business (i.e. rental). OTOH, you do not pay capital gains on the primary residence. As a result, the incentive and result for most Canadians is that they pay down their mortgage faster and eventually have none. Remortgaging to buy toys happens, but it costs more for the CMHC insurance and is not as common. Thus, adding the down payment, even if prices go down, few people are stuck with an “underwater” mortgage, especially if they’ve spent a few years paying it down. A lot of older homes are owned outright.
Businesses may have suffered from a major collapse of the market down south for a year or several, but the real estate market remains pretty solid. the biggest worry is that many people maybe are over-extended on house price. Early in the cycle, mortgages are mostly interest against the principal. If interest rates start climbing from their current extreme lows, newer mortgages which are barely affordable may become out of reach. However, that likely will be a world-wide problem.
What is up with warranties not being valid for products purchased by a Canadian in the US?
When the Canadian & US dollars were pretty much at par I bought my Dyson vacuum in Louisiana for about $250 less than in Canada but the warranty is not valid because I purchased it in the US. It’s the same product made by the same company, why won’t they honour their warranty?
It’s to stop exactly that - buying across the border.
Plus, often warranties are provided and supported by the importer on behalf of the manufacturer. “If you become the agent importing Dyson products to Canada, you must supply the warranty for the product you import.” Dyson Canada or whoever didn’t import it, they don’t have to service it. In general, there’s a separate local company for each manufacturer if they are big enough, and the local company for that country handles warranties.
many years ago when I bought a Honda motorbike, the warranty said something like it was only valid at the dealership I bought it at, unless they were bankrupt or I had moved more than 100 miles. (Or i was on a trip). Same idea - tryng to discourage dealer from one market stealing remote customers out of a different market.
It also discourages retailers from buying in bulk in another country and bringing it into that market, bypassing the local distributor’s markup (i.e. “grey market”) - as they would be responsible for the warranty.
Some companies also only offer warranties if bought from an authorized dealer, or make you go through that dealer.