Selected US/international vendors that serve Canada.
Presented in no particular order:
- Digi-Key. Canada-specific home page
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•The best service. A very complete parts line-up. - Mouser. Canada-specific home page
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•Good service. A very complete line-up, probably not as many as Digi-Key, but close. - Allied. Home page–you have to change the country yourself
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•I’ve not ordered from them, but I have received a good recommendation. - Arrow. The North American division
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•I recently ordred one of their own products. Surprise extra charges from Fedex came a week later. - Newark (Element 14). Canada-specific home page
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•Full line distro, I have no recent experience with them. - Sparkfun
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•I have not ordered from them. Several Canadian suppliers distribute SparkFun items. - AdaFruit
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•I have not ordered from them. Several Canadian suppliers distribute AdaFruit items.
Canadian sources.
Presented in no particular order (the numbers exist only for reference), I’ve tried to condense all the important information into a couple of lines. I certainly have not ordered from all of them!
- dipmicro
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, Niagara Falls.
•Web-based initially, now, as of mid 2014, a retail store has opened in Niagara Falls, no phone orders. They sell new components and some boards, e.g. Chinese Arduino clones. - Spikenzie
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, Montreal.
•Sell new components and many boards: AdaFruit, SparkFun and others. A few ICs only. - Electrosonic
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•One of the best things about taking EE at the University of Toronto when I did was being able to walk over to Electro Sonic at lunch! Alas they moved long ago, and they no longer list anysemi companies on their linecard. Still OK for passives, tools, instruments and Hammond cases. Despite their stock being maintained in the US I still think of them as Canadian. - Active
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•Retail stores in Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Calgary (no longer Vancouver). More or less full product line. - Sayal
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, Toronto.
•Several retail outlets in Southern Ontario. Largely surplus stock. Terrible web site with almost no prices! - Cana Kit
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, Vancouver.
•Sell kits and boards: their own designs as well as SparkFun and others. No components. - RP Electronics
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, Vancouver.
•Retail location in Vancouver. Failrly full line from books to components, to test equipment. - Lee’s Electronics
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, Vancouver.
•Retail location on Main in Vancouver. Wide variety of items, including some Hammond boxes. Poor web site. - Creatron
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, Toronto.
•Retail store on College. Wide range of parts and assemblies up to modern boards such as the Lilypad series and Raspberry Pi. - Proto Advantage
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, Hamilton.
•Mostly breadboarding package adapters, but Arduinos also carried, especially the Netduino. - RobotCraft
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, London, ON.
•No retail store. Components and boards related to robotics mostly. - A-One Counterparts
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, London, ON.
•Retail store. Components and boards, including Sparkfun and Adafruit. (Poor site with broken links in menu.) - RobotShop
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, Mirabel, PQ.
•No retail store. Components and boards related to robotics mostly. - Solarbotics
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, Calgary.
•No retail outlet. From BEAM robotics to solar to Arduinos… - B&E Electrnics
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, Calgary, Regina, Saskatoon.
•Retail outlets in all three cities. Slanted towards industrial electronics. Refreshingly they only ship to Canadian addresses. - Canada Robotix
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Markham, ON.
•Retail outlet. Roombas to Arduinos… - ABRA Electronics
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, Montreal.
•Montreal retail location. Quite a wide range of parts and boards. - A1 Electronic Parts
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, Toronto.
•Retail store near the bottom of Hwy 427. Stock is a mix of surplus parts up to modern boards such as Raspberry pi. - Interior Electronics, Kelowna & Burnaby plus Queale Electronics
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, Victoria.
•More oriented towards repair and maintenace of equipment, these stores are still sources for passive components and test equipment. - BC Robotics
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, Nanaimo BC.
•Arduino; R-Pi; Beagle; Adafruit; a bit of Spikenzie. Strange that one learns about a (the only?)local electronics supplier from somebody at a bus stop in another city! It did help that I was on the way to the Vancouver Mini Maker Faire… - Mikronauts
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, Lower Mainland, BC.
•A supplier of boards and kits of their own design. Aimed largely at the education market, their microcontrollers are heavily Propeller based. - Voltatek Electronics
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, Montreal.
•No storefront. Arduino, Raspberry pi, Beaglebone as well as general parts and prototyping supplies. - Main Electronic Supplies
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, Vancouver.
•Arduino clones, good selection of power supplies and some other test equipment, NTE TV service components. - Meistertech Solutions
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, Southern Ontario (Aylmer).
•An interesting collection. Mostly discrete parts aimed at repair and refurbishment. A good place to look for a replacement bulb or an audio grade capacitor.
If you are in the Toronto area, a site which serves as a resource to local suppliers can be found at Karma Laboratories 
Where to buy electronics in Toronto?
A listing of local & online electronics/hardware retailers specifically for Toronto-area makers.
Toronto Electronics Retailers
A-1 Electronic Parts
I haven’t been here but I’m told it’s like Active Surplus.
Above All Electronics
It’s been a while but I remember this place being sort of between Active Surplus and Supremetronics in selection.
Active Surplus
Carries major electronics components plus cheap, quirky surplus items. Everything sold “as is” so it may be hard to find the exact item you’re looking for since they don’t offer datasheets or specs. 20-30% of inventory turns over often so wander its aisles every month or so.
Creatron
Carries almost all of the major electronics components in very neat organized baggies on the wall or bins in the back. This is one of the few places you’ll be able to pick up an Arduino or Arduino-related hardware in Toronto. Carries a small collection of the kits you might find at Sparkfun or the Makezine store (listed as online retailers below) so Creatron is definitely worth checking out if you don’t want to wait for shipping, plus the prices are comparable.
Note: As of mid-2014, Creatron opened a new store at Vic Park and Sheppard and moved their original downtown store to 349 College St (at Augusta Ave) from previous location at 255 College St (at Spadina Ave).
Note: The new downtown location is smaller so doesn’t stock everything that Creatron sells. They will bring items down from their better stocked suburban store – just give them a call to ask.
Creatron – Scarborough store
Opened mid-2014. Same owners as the Spadina Creatron, but they tend to have a wider range of stock (plus Lawrence the owner is based there and he’s a great resource on electronic design if he has time).
Sayal
Additional stores in Mississauga, Vaughan, Cambridge, and Burlington. Never been there but apparently has a lot bigger selection than Supremetronics.
Supremetronic
Carries a wider range of electronics components than Active Surplus but not as much as Creatron. Specs are marked on most bins.
Note: Supremetronic is part of Home Hardware and is located in the basement of this Home Hardware location.
Toronto Hardware & Misc Retailers
Brafasco (CTF Supply)
If you’ve got a tricky screw head (tamper-resisant ones) they might have the right screwdriver for you.
LaserGlow
Need lasers for your next GRL Laser Tag project? Special infrared lasers? Email the folks there (or ask for Justin) and they can work with you to get you the right laser. They don’t carry everything in stock so give them at least 2-3 weeks notice first so they can order it from their supplier.
Lee Valley
Two other locations in Toronto and online shopping available. Lee Valley is kind of a throwback to the 70s and 80s since Lee Valley is really famous for their catalouge sales. But the things they stock are the best of the best.
Rotblott’s Discount Warehouse
This is a go-to destination if you work in the film industry. They have a random assortment of hardware and office supplies, along with surplus items. But my favourite thing is something called “Gaffers tape” which is a slightly more expensive tape than duct tape, but it doesn’t leave any sticky residue behind when removed.
Toronto Tool Library
Non-profit tool rental service providing everyone with access to home repair tools and power tools.
As a member of the Toronto Tool Library, members signout tools for both their home and community initiatives. Whether you are hanging a picture or renovating a community park, the Toronto Tool Library offers a rangeof equipment for your project as a low-cost, resource sharing and space-saving alternative to purchasing and owning tools. Non-profits and charitable organizations will also enjoy special membership rates.
Online Retailers
Adafruit Industries
Adafruit has done tons for the maker community. Easy website to shop on with tutorials for both individual electronics components and their own custom kits like the MintyBoost. (U.S. based so be careful of customs.)
Brickyard Ceramics & Crafts
Closest retailer of Amaco’s “Friendly Plastic” (polymorph plastic) – they are actually in the same building! If you have a GST account, call them directly and they can offer a 30% discount. (U.S. based so be careful of customs; and if you want next day or 3 day shipping, be prepared to pay $80, otherwise only $15 for regular 5-7 day standard shipping.)
Digikey
U.S. based company that offers a Canadian retail portal; Prices are in CAD$ and customs/duty charges are already worked in so you won’t be surprised with a $30 FedEx bill for a $10 purchase. Shipping is cheap and prompt (2-5 days). Unless you know the exact part you’re looking for or have good specs, download a catalog for browsing.
Inventables
All sorts of interesting and inspiring materials here. Get ready to browse this site for an hour!
Maker SHED
A few years ago, the web store companion to the iconic Make magazine only really carried kits but today is a formidable place for getting Arduinos, Arduino accessories, and general electronics supplies. They even carry more one-off items such as Chumby Guts, Shapelock moldable plastic, and Pixel Qi screens.
Newark
Alternative Canadian retail portal. Consider opening a FedEx, UPS, etc account so you have more shipping options (including guarenteed next day delivery) but I’ve never had to wait more than 2 days for my packages. Offers a nice visual “selector guide” section.
Robot Shop
Not too sure where exactly they are based but there’s a Canadian retail portal; Prices are in CAD$ and customs/duty charges are already worked in. Haven’t bought anything robotics-related from them yet but I have purchased Flexinol wires from them – and they may be the only place in CAD$ that you can find them.
Solarbotics
Calgary-based retailer of robotics and other electronics supplies.
Sparkfun
Super user-friendly electronics shopping. Very visual and easy to understand. Carries lots of Arduino-related products, including the LilyPad. (U.S. based so be careful of customs.)
Sundance Solar
Retailer of solar panels and many other solar related items. User friendly product descriptions keeps you from shopping in the dark. (U.S. based so be careful of customs.)
Upverter
Upverter is not a retailer but they do have an option to order PCBs from the designs you create in their software.
