Canada

The Canadian maple leaf flag

Grand Theft Auto games in Canada arrive typically around the same day as copies released to the United States of America. Some stores in the East Coast don't get the newest releases until 6 weeks after they are released in the West Coast. People in Ontario and Quebec traditionally get their games 3 weeks (assuming they shop for these games at a Wal-Mart or a Zellers) after they are released in Victoria, British Columbia and Vancouver, British Columbia. Although some EB Games stores in Canada get their games at the same release date as their American cousins, other EB Games franchises get their copies 5 or 10 days later.

Costco, which also sells video games almost never had video games with an ESRB rating of "M" and the games there are 2 years old on average. Also, at Costco, the selection of video games becomes narrower as it becomes closer to Christmas, as it is a wholesale store and must sell to businesspeople and retailers, making re-ordering practically impossible until after the holidays.

Some of the more upscale stores like The Bay, Sears (excluding the holiday season), and Honest Ed's Department Store in Toronto have never traditionally sold Grand Theft Auto games because they usually don't deal in video games. Their idea of electronics are limited to televisions, DVD players, and home equipment. So don't go to one of these stores expecting to see Grand Theft Auto IV.