Can someone recommend on-line vendor that sells hardwood to Canada. The boss tells me I have to keep floor reno under 3-4k, 500 sq feet plus 8 stairs. Yikes, but we do plan to move in a year or two so I can see where she is coming from.

I apologize if this violates forum rules, I read them but I'm still uncertain. I looked for the forum sponsors but did not find what I was looking for.

$4,000.00 divided by 500 ft = $8.00 a sq.ft. And that doesn't include the stairs. You might be able to get some #1 common oak installed, sanded and finished for that price. For a quality pre-finished solid oak floor, that's not much of a budget to work with.

What part of Canada are you in? And what are your thoughts on what you expect your new floor to be? Price alone wont work, it must also be aesthetically pleasing to your tastes.

Thanks Dennis and Gary for your comments.

We live in Winnipeg. We prefer the dark brown colors with lots of grey and black mixed in (e.g. espresso, nickel are some names of samples we've liked). I actually prefer irregular grain and mineral streaks which is a bonus since it's cheaper, it adds character to the wood in IMO. Unfortunatley not a huge fan of oak but we may have to compromise given it tends to be relatively cheap compared to other hardwood species.

We've found Shaw solid flooring from a Benjamin Moore flooring/paint store we really liked at cost of $8 / sqft, and there are a few other samples we found that were okay in the range of $5.50 - $6 / sqft. I was hoping for something in the $4 range.

End result needs to look like a professional installation, I take my renovations seriously and put lots of research and time into them. With great info on this forum and some help from a few friends who have hardwood floor instalation experience I'm convinced this is within my abilities.

Well $4 bucks wont buy you a very high quality product. If budget is at the top of your criteria list, try the box stores for some fine chinese product, lol.
On the other hand, Mirage has some beautiful dark colours and should be available in Windypeg. We sell it for approx $6.00 a foot here in the GTA (Toronto)

You mean thry dont sell BellaWood up there?

You can get a prefinished oak in the upper $3 to low $4 range. Taxes, Tariffs, and shipping to Canada is proabaly going to run you up to about $6.00 s/f. I would be glad to help you if you are still interested in oak flooring.