How much extra will you pay for goods made in Canada?

My main question isn't how much it costs to make, but what are the profit margins?

Most people don't know what the company is making in profit on the products made in China or made here in Canada. (how can we decide what is better for us or what is affordable) We are told that it is cheaper to be made overseas.

If the canada goose brand sells a jacket for $600.00 - and it is made here in Canada, what is the profit margin? What is the cost to make?

If the same jacket is built in China - what would the cost be then? What is the profit margin, cost for fuel and cost to make?

The average person wouldn't have a clue, and the average business wouldn't let you know these numbers.

From what i can see, the reason for having things made in China or other countries, was to increase profit. I bet if you look at when the majority of manufacturing went overseas, the profit margins of upper management's salaries and bonus packages have increased around the same time.

Don't forget, there is also a cost of fuel that the average person pays for all these products to be shipped back and forth. If we built things locally, would the price of gas/oil decrease as supply and demand would be significanlty lower?

Do a study on that, Please?

I would love to read an article where it shows how much cheaper items could be if you cut the upper managers, CEO's, CFO's and Board of Directors salalries and bonuses. (the hundreds of millions that get paid out each year)

So, in my opinion, things can be built locally and one day when gas prices get to high, things will be built locally again.

I get it now if you compair the Idea is in Mexico the build by GM is 23% and Mexico buys 1% of the GM cars made in the North American Market

The main problem with making products here in north america is that you have many other companies offering the same or simalar product at a cheaper price - E.G. - WAL-MART when this happens people will shop around and compare and most will buy the cheaper version of the product to save money in these hard times, you can't blame them, so how I see it is these companies like WAL-MART must stop under cutting everyone and try to stock north americam made products in their store, if they don't do this then manufacturing in north america will continue to disappear until we will turn into a land of warehouse's and all be working at WAL-MART!

I would pay a little more - it's all corparate greed -they look at the bottom line
how much money can we make??? that's the only question they ask
The consumer is the only person who suffers, it's the cdn government would bring gas prices down, impose a HUGE TAX for once canadian comopanies that flew to china, mexico or other places in the world with cheap labour- you would see that those companies would come back.
Also get rid of WALMART basically a china warehouse that sells retail.
Stop buying from them and tell the managers at your local store to start selling Canadian product.
Then again WALMART builds stores for the new Canadians - the people that are form India, Pakistan, the Middle East - sell garbage and they will buy.

Basically it all starts with us - If we demand our government do something about it (BIG MAYBE)
something will get done.

Then again in canada they claim we are free and have a democratic vote - but our government is a dictation worst then Castro - at least Castro doesn't claim there is a free vote and government by the people. We are natural resource rich and yet pay through the nose for Gas, Electricty
We make enough electricty and dump it and then buy it from the USA at double the cost.

The oil sand has enough gas to supply Canada and the US for the next 150 yrs - I know this cause I worked for Suncor and there was a study done to check on the amount of oil we have in Alberta.
The study was done in places/land that has not even been touched yet by any oil company.
The governemnt should build refineries. This way we can tell the people in the middel east to shove it.
They would have nothing else to sell and they would be forced to build sand castles and play with rocks - maybe blow themselves up for fun

Then we have the big 3 auto makers crying all the time looking ofr handouts so they can pay there CEO 100 million dollar bonus. The make a car in Canada for 10K send it to the states where they sell it for 18-24k but the same vehicle in canada cost 40k never will understand. The big corp's and government just feed usa lies and deception - population this and that they say

ONCE AGAIN ITS ALL ABOUT THE DOLLAR and HOW MUCH CAN WE MAKE

I totally agreed what Mr. Negative has posted. The public mass simply are not conscious, not aware, not able to know or it takes too much work to figure out the true costs that are associating with their daily prouducts prior to their purchases. In fact, it is so difficult to know the manufacture, transportation and labor cost (including those upper management salaries) to a point where people just gave up finding out and not caring anymore. This has reinforced the majority of the consumers' habit to only focus on the price (ie. retail price) of the products and letting the their purchasing decisions based primarily on that factor alone. On top of that, not everyone has a board sense of how the economy works as a whole, so peopel generally think less about the cause and effects and the benefits of supporting domestic businesses. It takes some collective consumers purchasing power in order to have any benefitical effects be felt within the domestic economy, and given that not every consumers are conscious and with most consumers already buit up this "lowest price" purchasing habits, we need to advoacte and bring consciousness about the real cause and effect and costs of buying foreign made products to the general public. Only then we can make consumers to justify with the "seemingly higher" cost with domestic productions and having them to start supporting our domestically made products once again.

All great comments about Standing up for North American Jobs/Products.
I fully agree to stop shopping at Canadian Tire & Walmart if they will no stop selling
us the unreliable asian products.

I want to point out that we need to look at companies that are making boat loads of money from things like Hockey Skates & Hockey Sticks, Etc. Do you really think that when both of these products started being made in asia the retail price went down. I have paid $700.00 to $800.00 for skates that are made off shore. These items could easily be made in Canada for the prices they are charging. What type of profit do you think these companies are making. Shame on us!!!!!

I look for Canadian made as the standard others have to match; I have more faith in the quality. However, in most stores, it's hard even to find Canadian products in many categories. We don't even have the option.

Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. The world as a whole is starting to realize its full potential and in North America we must adjust to the increase in competition. You guys live in a world of double-standards and isolation of other nations. Think about it this way. You say its acceptable for Canada to export products to other countries but it's a problem if we import products from other countries? The two main reasons North American manufacturing can't compete are labor unions and the price of electricity(especially here in Ontario). Unions were necessary back when wages and working conditions were horrible, but at some point(in North America) they reached and grossly surpassed fair compensation and working conditions. Also, they have to defend their members even if those employees don't deserve to be defended.(that might only represent 1%-5% of workforce, but that is poison to productivity.) I knew a man who worked at the GM plant in Oshawa who was making $40/hr and his job was to empty eight dumpsters during the day. He was on modified work because he hurt himself water skiing. The company still had to give him some type of cushy job. They were large dumpsters that require a forklift to move so I'm not talking about emptying a bag of trash, but this still only accounted for about 2 hours of his 12 hour shift. He would'nt even stay at the plant for the whole day and he told me if he ever got caught, the union would fight for him and at worst he'd get a write-up.(slap on the wrist with zero consequences) Is there any wonder that GM has closed production of some of their Oshawa lines and are now going to be producing them in Tennessee where employees will startat around $15/hr instead of $25-$35/hr. Congrats Tennessee on realizing that as North Americans we must stop pretending to be richer than we are. People from other countries have the right to earn a decent living and feed their families, and it is that competition that drives down wages. Unskilled, general manufacturing jobs need to take a severe cut in salaries. I'm not talking about your Millwrights, Electricians, etc. I'm talking about hardworking general laborers that don't require a whole lot of education or training for their positions. Its unfortunate, but it if the option is to either give up earning $30/hr for$15/hr OR lose your job, I think the $15/hr looks pretty good.

I would love to shop Canadian. Why? Because the goods produced here in the past were amazing quality. I have a Roots t-shirt I bought before they outsourced their manufacturing. It is still in awesome shape. I cannot say the same for the t-shirts I have purchased from them that were outsourced...max lifespan, 2 years if I treat them with kid gloves and don't wear and don't have to wash often!

I would love to own a Canada Goose coat. Heck! Most of my friends in Europe and other countries own one, but me, sorry, but the $600 price tag is a little too steep for my budget. I know they are good quality, I know they are awesome in the winter, especially on those -20C winter days, but when my rent keeps going up every year, food prices keep creeping up, and my pay stays stagnant, it becomes more difficult every year to save up for something of good quality and Canadian.

Having said all of the above, I agree with everyone who commented on the practices of unions, the lack of use of natural resources in Canada (still shaking my head that gas in the USA is cheaper than here in Canada when they purchase some of their resources from Canada), etc.

I am all for companies making a buck, however, when it becomes downright robbery and mere greed, it just makes me shake my head and wonder how in the world we can counter, for example, Buy American with Buy Canadian!

I don't have to pay more for Canadian made products. I bought my Lexus in the USA for $20K less than I could get it in Calgary. It was built in Ontario. Doesn't get any better than that.

:-)

You know it suprises me how our government has allowed all of this to pass. It is not as if North Americans were unaware that there was a raising market in Asia and that labour could be had for cheap in those countries, where their governments don't have good employment standards (if any). Instead of addressing the issue at least 10 years ago, when we should have thought about bringing about salary changes in Ontario, we continued the same work practices and now we the consumers have to accept goods from abroad, some of which are not worth the price you pay for them because they don't last long enough. Now that manufacturing is practically gone from Ontario, we are hearing rumblings of bringing about changes in unions and opting for open tenders. In a global market, which is becoming more and more compatitive, in order for us to keep jobs in North America we are going to have to accept changes in wages and benefits, and instead of lamenting about the loss of manufacturing in this country, we should find better ways to compete in the global market. I am sure Canadians would be willing to pay a reasonable amount for products made in Canada, if they are well made and last.

I have been in the upholstery industry for the last 40 years with many changes. I moved out west to Edmonton from Toronto looking for work. In 1983 there where over 85 shops with 4-5 people working in each shop. Now we are down
to 27shops with 18 working from their double car garage's. The manufacturing sector was mostly based in the G.T.A.
most of the wooden frames were hardwoods, alder, maple, dowelled, glued, and screwed.

There is hardly anbody new coming into this industry for many years. The offshore products are made in China, using
Canadian brand names, so people think that if its a certain brand name it must still be Qualitiy. Many of the offshore
furniture is 30% quality at best. Even to the point that a customer was complaining to me about his leather sofa he bought from box store..asking me why his leather was peeling?...He was told by the store, salesman said that it was
leather, I showed the customer that in fact it was not leather....but it was vinyl.

Also many frames that are made today from the offshore companies are using partical board, MDF, plywood with
very little hardwood, once again fooling the consumer. Again Qualitiy vs Quanitiy.

People are given less choice now than before, as more shops close down with less people going into different places
where products are made in Canada.

It takes 20-24 hours to strip, cut, sew, upholster a sofa with out tieing springs.
I was told buy a box store owner who went to China to see the factory where he buys the furniture he sells.

They have 3,000 people who eat, work, sleep, for that company. They ship in a container 48 units, sofa is 3 units
loveseat is 2 units, and a chair is 1 unit, the record month for that offshore company was 245,000 containers.
Qualitiy? what Quallitiy!...and what about all the toxins in the frames, V.O.C.'S in the fabric's.

Its interesting to me how the automaker's went looking for a bailout from the U.S. and Canadian Governments in order
to stay in business using tax dollars. The leather, cloth covers are made in Mexico! What jobs were they talking about?
How many other parts that go into the cars, trucks, are made offshore, not here in Canada, or the U.S.

Who do they think their fooling? Jobs!!! what Jobs!!

The fact is people already voted on this issue decades ago whenthey made Wal-Mart the number 1 retailer in North America. People stating that they'd be willing to pay more for Canadian made goods is pointless rhetoric we've heard a million times and it counts for nothing. Fact is, 90% of consumers are selfish a-holes who don't feel that the premium paid to keep middle class jobs in this country is worth it. We're a country of cheepsakes, plain and simple.

To me I think that prices here in Canada are way too high.Put it another way over priced by
at least 20%.

I just bought a Canada Goose winter coat last year. The coat i threw out lasted 10 yrs, it was made overseas, but this Canada Goose jacket feels like it will last forever and looks good, they even said (because i asked) if anything ever happens to the zipper bring it in we will look after it.

I waited an extra yr before i bought it, but i'm glad i did buy it, the Quality is awesome, and it looks awesome.

I agree with this article that it's too expensive to manufacture alot of products here. We have a system that's way too bloated, too much bureaucracy. We need Unions, trust me, I am part of a Union and without it I would be screwed. If managers were effective in properly cutting costs and creating work environments that were efficient and respectful towards their employees, than those companies wouldn't need unions. What about the government? Look how bloated they are, I am not saying government/city workers are lazy but... our tax dollars are going towards alot of cushy jobs and inefficiency.

I would pay more for Canadian made products. Why are we supporting other countries anyways? Lets take care of our own. We have enough resources and good Canadian products here that I would buy.

Corporations make huge profits so do banks so where is the money going? I am on a limited income, try to buy Canadian made products! I just cannot afford to spend mucho dollars on an item that I can get cheaper from a discount store. If you make 50,000 plus a year buy all the canadian you want but I can only afford the cheap versions ( a cell phone is a major expense). If I won in a provincial or federal election I would be set, look at their wages and pensions! Don't condemn just because Canadian production is falling, look to where the money is and where it goes. Small business in Canada is dying, corporations want it to die, talk to your MP or MLA to find out how to stop this, lets treat all Canadians on an equal footing.

This is why economies rise and fall, they are unable to reverse inflation. Things become more expensive, so wages must be raised to meet inflation to some level. North America, especially Canada, has gotten so greedy and inflated it will likely never come back down to making things at home until there is either a crash or people start to think forward. Sometimes less if more, and if there was a widespread move to lower costs and wages, across the board**, things would work.

As is, wages are incredibly high. taxes are equally out of funk and overhead is absurd. There is no way to make a reasonable profit for most companies hence why they go elsewhere. Right or wrong, it is what it is. I don't think any society, especially Canadian, is sophisticated and organized to effectively remedy the situation, we did it to ourselves and about the only way to make good money is putting in hard work through your own business and make it yourself. But again, most people lack the will or motivation and are more happy sitting in a chair playing with facebook on their new iphone.

Do what other countries do with thin margins, make more and sell it cheaper. These nations are now getting extremely rich. Canadas only saving grace is its exceptional natural resource reserves. The general workforce situation here has little hope. This is sad considering how much there is to offer and how much we pay in taxes, we get relatively little in comparison to the same amount of $ spent in other countries. THis is from experience growing up and living in canada and also living working, and starting businesses in Asian countries, in which i have never hired one person and ran them completely on my own through hard work.

I also note in the last 4 years i have not bought a single item from China or India, i make my purchase decisions very carefully, and anyone can. Most people complain you cant, but that is due to lack of effort in searching not lack of availability. Laziness will be our nations undoing.

Lets face it even if every Canadian workers were to take a pay cut, we still wouldn't be able to compete against prison wages of China. China does not have the same human rights as we do here in North America, and child labour is often used by sub contractors in China. Ask your selves, why did Apple place suicide nets around its manufacturing buildings? As it stands coprorations see huge profits manufacturing products in China and other third world countries, because of slave labour laws and pollution laws are criminally lower there than here in North America.

someone wants to know how much a company makes...
store makes 40% over what you it for. the company makes 40% on what the store bought it for. and that's for expensive hardgoods.for something like clothing, the store and company make WAY more. north americans are lazy and we expect to be paid 20$/hr for being an idiot and washing dishes. We're unwilling to take the low paying jobs that should go along with our high school education.
it's nice to blame companies for being greedy but they're owned by stockholders. everyone on this page probably has an rrsp, which means you own stock. do you know which stocks you own? are you willing to take a cut in your investments return? stockholders want o make money and will cheap out on every possible thing to do so. cheaper labor, cheaper materials, whatever. make more money, that is the only goal. this trend started in the 80s and we will pay dearly for it in the future (if we're not already). everytime you buy an item that says 'made in china' you send money to that country. a person in that country has a job, and we eventually lose our jobs and our manufacturing knowledge because of it. China will become (is) the superpower of the world because we're giving them all our money and know how. you literally can't have certain products built in north america because we've sent all the machines that make that product to China (i've tried). and I'll tell you chinese people aren't afraid to work.
I avoid buying 'made in china/india/thailand/etc' as much as possible and pay to keep jobs in north america. and as as soon as you do too i won't have to be in china overseeing a factory telling them how to make stuff.

DAKOTA jeans from Marks Work Wearhouse.

around $40.00 a pair. many sizes and colours, and made in Canada.......

To Kay C : The "incredibly' high wages you mention starts with the "Public Sector" jobs, everybody else are losing their jobs (300,000 manufacturing jobs gone, 2 yrs ago) plus contruction has big losses, small business is way down.

How fair is it for these "Public Sector Unions" to have not missed "One" pay check through this recession or any downturn in the economy, with their high wages yet, teachers, firemen , police , city hall, court house , transit, garbage pick-up ?

I say get rid of Public Sector Unions and let them work in the real world.

I completely agree with mr negative, bob,frank & tony and all those who share similar sentiments.
these comments should be read and reaserched by economists and the like as well as
proff.'s teaching business and our governt.
if everyone observed and followed what you have all said we would not become a co-dependant society
in the future, if we can not continue to sustain ourselves than what future do we hold???
it looks pretty bleak.... is that what we want for our children?

There are a whole lot of reasons to buy Canadian but there are also a whole lot of reasons not to.
Over the years Companies have been required to show profit and growth threw either organic growth or acquisition of new product lines or companies. Share holders demand this and if the company doesn't perform then management is out. Unions have also contributed greatly to the costs of goods. Taxes at all levels of government, heating, electrical and general over head all contribute to costs of goods in Canada. Machinery to manufacture goods are very expensive here versus off shore. Qualified personnel are in short demand as well.

Profit margins are very high in Canada, Walmart for example can mark up off shore prices by 800 - 1000% and then mark them down as to make you think your getting a deal. I spend 5-6 months a year in the states and know that Canada pays a great deal more for the exact same item in Canada than in the USA. Canadians just pay more for almost anything and only now with all the cross boarder shopping and a dollar at par are we starting to see just how much more.

I would not pay any more. I dont care where a product is made. I will pay for quality, not where it is built. If North American cant build quality - I wont buy it.

Is that a joke we already do pay more much more and its made else where so thats the dumbist think i have heard in a long time.

I agree with Mr.Negative. I bougth a pair of Jeans made in Canada for just under 20.oo bucks went back and bought the same brand same price but surprise made in China

From reading the comments above, it seems like shareholders/investing has a lot to do with this as well.

We are told the products are cheaper but no one really knows by how much. When looking at the numbers below, I would suggest that it is significantly cheaper to build overseas. (look at their estimated wealth - the proof is in the pudding)

Now, when you add up the wealth of the Walton Family - (Also Known as Wal-mart) the estimated wealth is 107 Billion - making them one of the richest families, if not, the richest in the world. They have been in the top ten since 2001.

Christy Walton - 27.9 Rank in America - #6
Jim Walton - 26.8 - Rank in America #7
Alice Walton - 26.3 - Rank in America #8
S.Robson Walton - 26.1 - Rank in America # 9

The reason i think this is funny, is.......the same people telling me how much I will save because of cheaper labour, are the same people bending me over and charging me as much as they can. (while everything but my salary is going up)
They are also, the same people who don't pay their employees very well, and try to make everyone a part time employee to avoid paying out any benefits.

Right or Wrong, my issue isn't really with sending the work to other countries. My issue is with our own corporations and world leaders continually bending over the little guy for increased profits.

With 107 Billion in wealth tied up, you can see why the economy is slipping. It might be time for these people to start spending some money. (you know, get the economy moving again)

Last but not least - I saw a funny quote on Forbes today.

"When a man tells you he got rich off of hardwork, ask him: Whose?"
Don Marquis

We can point our finger at these companies as long as we want, there are 4 pointing right back at us. They only make so many because they sell so many. People can simply not buy their product. Monsters are made, not born.