Cross border shopping has not gone away. In fact, it’s more popular than ever with an increase of 72 per cent from 2006 to 2012. That translates into Canadians spending 8 billion dollars in the U.S. in 2012 compared to 4.7 billion in 2006.
The Atlantic Director of the Retail Council, Jim Cormier tells CHSJ News at one time, a former federal Finance Minister tried to put the blame on retailers for the price differential between what stores in Canada charge compared to those in the U.S., accusing them of gouging consumers.
Cormier says what suppliers and manufacturers charge is also responsible for the higher prices you find in Canada together with outmoded government tariffs put in place years ago to protect Canadian manufacturing industries that no longer exist.
The Harper Government is promising to take steps to close the price gap.
