Hi firequall

Bike prices may appear lower in the States but with the Canadian dollar as low as it is, it makes a big difference (about 15%-20%). Remember your still starting off with Canadian dollars, no matter what.

Everyone else has already covered the additional costs of importing a bike from the States (gas, duties?, taxes, exchange rate, etc.). It really is cheaper and easier in the long run to buy locally. Your budget price of $1500 CDN (give or take $100), however, will buy you one of several very nice touring bikes in Canada.

That is approximately the dealer list price for a Surly LHT (Cambridge Cycle), or a Trek 520 (any Trek dealer), a well-equipped Urbanite Touring (Urbane Cycle) or, my recently discovered favorite, the Norco Kwest - http://www.norco.com/bikes/road/performance-road/kwest/

Doug