Amazon Alexa Available in Canada Now!
After 3 years of waiting, Amazon Alexa and Echo products are now available for pre-order in Canada!
Amazon first released Alexa and the Echo line of products in the States almost 3 years ago to the day, and many Canadians felt left out of the party. Canadians had to get creative about ways to get their hands on an Alexa device. Well, as of today this is no longer necessary.
Today, Amazon made the official announcement that 3 Amazon Echo devices (Echo, Echo Plus, and Echo Dot) are available in Canada now. Pre-orders being taken as we speak and the first orders will be shipped on December 5, 2017. Finally, Alexa will be officially crossing the border to the Great White North!
“Tens of millions of customers are already using Alexa, and today we’re excited to bring her to Canada with an experience designed from the ground up for our Canadian customers,” Tom Taylor, senior vice president of Amazon Alexa, said in a statement.
Amazon reports that Alexa will have an a new English voice with a “Canadian accent.” She will have local knowledge, and all-new local skills from Canadian developers. It is estimated that Alexa will have 10,000 skills available for customers in Canada this year. Some of these will include skills from Air Canada, TD Bank, TELUS, CBC, The Weather Network, Bank of Montreal, Manulife, Aviva, Yellow Pages, and more.
Canadian News
Alexa will be able to read the news and give customized updates based on your preferences. Canadians can choose their favourite news and sports outlets including TSN, theScore, CTV News, Global News, CBC, The Globe and Mail, Business News Network, The Toronto Star, Montreal Gazette, and National Post.
Just say “Alexa, what’s the news?”, or “Alexa, read my flash briefing.”
Canadian Weather
For the weather, Alexa has you covered too. You will be able to ask about local, national, and international weather forecasts.
For example: “Alexa, will it snow tomorrow?”, “Alexa, what’s the weather in Vancouver?”, or “Alexa, do I need an umbrella?”
What about the Canadian Audiophiles?
Alexa is pretty smart when it comes to playing music. Amazon Prime Music Service is also launching today in Canada, and (no surprise here) Alexa integrates seamlessly with this. If you have an Amazon Prime account, you can control and stream your music with a variety of Alexa requests.
Control volume and playback by saying “Alexa, turn it up,” or “Alexa, skip this song.” If you aren’t sure who an artist is, just say “Alexa, which song is this?”
If you’re not an Amazon Prime member, have no fear – Alexa will work with other music services too including Spotify, Radioplayer, and TuneIn.
If you have more than one Echo device in your home or office you can also group them together. Then you can have synchronized streaming music wherever you like. For example, create a group called “kids rooms” and then say “Alexa, play reggae music in the kids rooms.” That’s one way to get them up for school!
Canadian Sports Leagues and Teams
Alexa will be able to provide live scores, stats, and schedules for major league sports, including the CFL and NHL.
Just ask “Alexa, what CFL games are on today?”, or “Alexa, what are the NHL standings?” or “What was the score of the Canucks game?”
Pricing and Availability
Echo, Echo Plus, and Echo Dot are available for pre-order starting today with “a special introductory offer” for a limited time and will begin shipping December 5.
The Echo is $99.99 for a limited time (usually $129.99).
The Echo Plus is $169.99 for a limited time (usually $199.99).
The Echo Dot is $49.99 for a limited time (usually $69.99).
*all prices in Canadian dollars
All I can say is, “Finally! It’s about time!”
With the official statement that Alexa is available in Canada now, what are you most excited about? And which Echo model will you be getting?
