I have put together a list of commonly found items in Canada and some quoted prices against some prices that I have run across here. Remember Canadian prices don't include 7% PST or the 7% GST taxes. At the time of doing this comparision, the exchange rate is 6.3 yuan RMB for every $1.00 Cdn. There are no extra taxes on goods in China.
| ITEM | CHINA PRICE (in ¥ RMB) | CANADA PRICE (in $ CDN) |
| Drinks: | ||
| 1.0 L bottle of Evian water | 16.0¥ Carre Four | $1.29 London Drugs |
| 2.25L bottle of Coke Cola | 5.50¥ Carre Four | $0.99 Real Cdn Superstore (2.0 L) |
| local brewed beer | 3.05¥ Snow Light Beer a 675ml bottle 5% alcohol (Carre Four) | $9.65 six pak 355ml cans Columbia Kokanee 7% alcohol (BC Liquer Board) |
| local wine | 40 ¥ Shenyang White Wine 500ml, 46% alcohol (Carre Four) | $20.25 Alberta Banff Ice Wine, 750ml, 40% alcohol (BC LB) |
| Nescafe Instant Columbian Coffee | $4.99 150ml jar | |
| Apple Juice from Concentrate | 4.45¥ for 250ml bottle Dole (Carre Four) | $1.39 Sunripe, 1.0L tetrapak |
| Tetra Pak Milk | 1.65¥ 250ml pak (Carre Four) | $2.25 2L carton |
| Packaged Foods: | ||
| Instant Noodle Pak (no bowl) | 1.00¥ most brands | $1.00 for 4 pak of Mr. Noodles (London Drugs) |
| Gilco Pocke (standard chocolate coated) | 1.30¥ (Zhong Supermarket) | $1.29 (T&T Supermarket) |
| Lays Chips | 6¥ 100g bag (Carre Four) | $2.99 300g bag (7-Eleven) |
| Pringles Chips 190g Can | 12.50¥ (Carre Four) | $1.99 Real Canadian Super Store |
| Trix Cereal | 10.10¥ (5 paks of 30g) Carre Four | |
| Eggs (6 pak large) | $1.00 (Safeway) | |
| Prepared Foods: | ||
| Loaf of White Bread 500g bag | 3.80¥ (Carre Four) | $0.99 (London Drugs) |
| Take II microwaved Popcorn | 4.80¥ (also comes in milk, butter, chocolate flavours) Carre Four | |
| Smuckers Strawberry Jam 170g Jar | 4.10¥ Carre Four | |
| Fried Chicken (Super Market Deli) per piece | 3.30¥ Carre Four | |
| Rice 10kg bag | 34.50¥ Carre Four | $8.88 Real Cdn Superstore |
| Food by Weight: | Price in ¥ RMB per kilo | Price in $ CDN per kilo |
| Ground Beef 60% lean | 17.00¥ (Carre Four) | $4.39 (Safeway) |
| Onion | 2.20¥ (Carre Four) | $1.50 (Real Canadian Superstore) |
| Brocolli | 1.50¥ (Carre Four) | $2.21 (Safeway) |
| Bean Sprouts | 1.50¥ (Carre Four) | $0.60 |
| Green Peppers | 6.60¥ (Carre Four) | $2.21 (Safeway) |
| Potatoes | 4.50¥ (Carre Four) | |
| Celery | 5.70¥ (Carre Four) | |
| Sourdough Bread | 14¥ (Carre Four) | $3.00 (two 454g loaves) Safeway |
| Tomatos | $4.39 USA (Safeway) | |
| HouseHold Items: | ||
| Tide Laundry Detergent | 2.90¥ (CW2 - 500g bag) | $2.99 |
| All purpose Cleaner | 11.50¥ 1.0L bottle Generic | $1.99 London Drugs brand 1.2L |
| Personal Hygiene: | ||
| hair shampoo | 8.80¥ for 800ml (Zhongxing) | $3.99 Dove Shampoo 300ml (Safeway) |
| pain killer | $10 Advil Extra Strength, 50 caplets | |
| razor (cheap disposable 2 blade) | 2.60¥ for 3 pak (Carrefour) | |
| tooth brush (non-motorized) | 3.10¥ Oral B (Carre Four) | $1.99 Reach 200 PS/RI (London Drugs) |
| tooth paste tube | 5.20¥ Crest Mint 100ml (Carre Four) | $0.99 Crest Regular 130ml (Safeway) |
| Tampons | 13.50¥ (10 pak) Carre Four | $3.79 O.B. 20's (Safeway) |
| Listerine Mouthwash 500ml | 55¥ (Carre Four) | $6 |
| toilet Paper (2-ply paper) | 18.20¥ for 9 rolls (Carre Four) | $8.99 (30 rolls Purex Soft) |
| HouseHold Appliances: | ||
| 2 slice toaster Oven | 99¥ Toshiba 4 slices Oven (Carre Four) | $40 Black N' Decker TR#0962 (London Drugs) |
| Iron | 39.00¥ (Carre Four) | $50 (London Drugs) |
| Frying Pan, 20cm Diameter | 28¥ (Carre Four) | $20 (London Drugs) |
| hammer (claw style, metal handle, rubber grip) | 21.90¥ (Carrefour) | |
| screwdriver | 7.80¥ (Carrefour) | |
| Entertainment: | ||
| Ayumi Hamasaki - "Rainbow" CD (offical Avex Copy Controlled CD) | 67.50¥ Books365.com | $20 MAL (Taiwan version)
$60 Iwase (Japanese version) |
| DVD of "Daredevil" | 18¥ Books365.com | $19 Future Shop |
| CD Avril Lavigne - "Let Go" | 10¥ Carre Four | $10 Future Shop |
| Game Boy SP Cobalt Blue | 898¥ Carre Four | $89.98 Future Shop |
| Computers: | ||
| cheap wired 4 port Broadband router | 120¥ Netcore 2105NR (Computer Town market) | $30 D-Link DI-604 (Future Shop) |
| Canon Powershot A85, 4.0MP Camera | 2480¥ Carre Four | $350 (Future Shop) |
| Sandisk 256Mb SD memory Card | 600¥ Carre Four | $60 (Future Shop) |
| Acer AL1913 (19" TFT LCD Monitor) | 2990¥ Acer Store | $389 (Anitec) |
| Dining Out: | ||
| KFC chicken burger combo (reg drink, fries) | 19.50¥ | $7.00 |
| Sirlion Steak (in a Full Service Licensed Restaurant) 8oz Angus Beef | 98.00¥ (Count) | $18 .00 (Earl's) |
| Green Salad (side order) with 1000 Island Dressing | 10.00¥ (Count) | $4.95 (Earl's) |
| Deep Fried Whole Prawns (order of 4) | 45.00¥ (Count) | $5.00 |
| McChicken Sandwich (not combo) | 8.00¥ | |
| Big Mac Combo (with drink & fries) | 18.00¥ |