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Google Home smart speaker coming to Canada within weeks

Pre-orders are live now via retailers like Best Buy and Google's online store, where units are expected to ship by the end of June.

Ry Crist Senior Editor / Reviews - Labs
Originally hailing from Troy, Ohio, Ry Crist is a writer, a text-based adventure connoisseur, a lover of terrible movies and an enthusiastic yet mediocre cook. A CNET editor since 2013, Ry's beats include smart home tech, lighting, appliances, broadband and home networking.
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The Google Home smart speaker is now available for preorder in Canada, both through Google's online store and via retailers such as Best Buy. 

According to Google, the shipping wait for pre-orders will be about 2-3 weeks. It costs 180 Canadian dollars, which converts roughly to the $130 you'll pay in the US.

This comes less than a month after Google I/O, where the tech titan announced the upcoming international expansion for its Amazon Echo alternative. Australia, France, Germany, and Japan were the other countries named in that announcement, though the Google Home doesn't show up in those countries' versions of the Google Store just yet. Previously, the Google Home was only available in the US and UK.

This northern exposure helps Google widen its footprint in the global connected home market. It also gets Google into Canada ahead of the Alexa-powered Amazon Echo, which is currently only available in the US, the UK, and Germany. I asked Amazon for an update on its plans to bring the Echo to Canada and beyond, but the online retailer had no update to share at this time.

Google, too, had nothing to add on the timetable for its speaker's arrival in Australia, Germany, and France, either -- though the timely Canadian debut would appear to be a good sign.