Incidentally, are there any other shops in Ontario with a similar profile to True North? I have some friends who've had bikes custom made by Hugh and have heard nothing but awesome stuff. I loved the looks of the Mariposa bikes when they were going, but that's been done for a few years now.

It seems to me that a new Toronto shop that could not compete with True North on quality/brand/reputation/price would have basically 3 ways to compete:

1. Shorter wait
2. More convenient location for anyone east of Mississauga.
3. Very unique niche (exotic/odd materials, construction technique, design, etc.) not addressed by True North.

None of those is an easy road, though. If someone's willing to spend $2-3k on a custom-made frameset, they're generally willing to wait to have it made by the person who has built a reputation for excellent quality and customer service.