Deal...or No Deal?

Louis loves the show Deal or No Deal. So you can imagine his excitement when we found it on our Canadian television. Not just Deal or No Deal….but Deal or No Deal CANADA. What a deal! We still get almost all U.S. television programming, in fact, more television options than we’ve ever had. We can watch the news from Seattle, Calgary, Toronto and even New Brunswick. Granted, we pay almost twice as much for television, Internet and phone here, especially when you add in the sales tax. Basically, it’s not much of a deal. But at least we get a detailed weather report from Winnipeg.

But Deal or No Deal Canada is a highlight of Louis’ television experience, after the Canadian version of Sportscentre of course. We were very intrigued by the difference between the Canadian version of Deal and the U.S. version. First, Howie Mandel slips into more of a Canadian accent in the show, which is taped in his hometown of Toronto. The “ladies” are all from Canada of course, from places like Labrador, New Brunswick, Ottawa and Edmonton. They look the same as they do in the U.S. This is still North America after all. Another difference -- instead of a dollar or two at the bottom of the board, it says Loonie and Toonie. A Loonie is the $1 coin and the Toonie is the $2. Speaking of these coins….they are such a nuisance. Just when you think you’re plowing through the cash and need another trip to the ATM (no drive in ATM here remember), you dig through pockets and corners and find lots of cash…well not cash as in bills….but cash as in coins. They add up.

But the biggest difference between Deal in Canada and the U.S. is that often Howie has to remind the contestants that the million dollars is tax FREE. Nothing is tax free in Canada, so we’re assuming that means the million is around two million. Canadians don’t mess around with taxes.