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Well, it’s about time, wouldn’t you say? We’re already lucky enough to have Google Assistant, Cortana and Siri in our lives, so why not add one more digital voice assistant to the mix? How about the one that may have popularized the idea of having an assistant-enabled smart speaker in the first place? At long last, Amazon Echo devices have officially arrived in Canada, bringing their buddy Alexa along with them.

I have friends who have purchased Echo devices from the United States and brought them up to Canada before. They say that Alexa works, sort of, but many of her features are terribly hindered. Those restrictions are largely being lifted with the arrival of Alexa in Canada in a more official fashion.

Naturally coinciding with this expansion is the introduction of the Echo family to Canada too. These are the same smart speakers that were announced and revealed for the US market a couple of months ago. They’re all up for pre-order now with delivery expected on December 5.

Canada will start out with three Amazon Echo devices, each of which are being offered at a “limited time introductory price” that’s $30 cheaper than what will be the regular retail price.

As an added bonus, you can bundle the Echo Plus with a Philips Hue Smart Bulb for no extra cost. Notably absent from the Echo lineup for Canada are the camera-equipped Echo Look and the touchscreen-touting Echo Show. Amazon.ca has opened up a new section on the site for “smart home devices that work with Alexa” though, including such products as the Philips Hue lightbulbs, Nest Learning Thermostat, and TP-Link Smart Plug.

The Sonos One that we recently reviewed was said to be “ready for Alexa” when Amazon’s smart assistant rolled out in Canada. That’s partly true, because Alexa won’t be enabled in the newest Sonos smart speaker until some time next year. It may or may not come before they add Google Assistant to the Sonos One as well.

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