I know Canada has always been the lesser sibling for television offerings when compared to the US. But this is like Apple is rubbing our noses in it. For the launch of their of the new television offerings available on iTunes Canada they managed to get 4 networks to sign on. The US store currently has 60 different networks supplying content to them. Now even if these networks were the top 4 in Canada this list would probably still be suspect, but sadly it isn’t even that good. We have the top broadcaster, CTV, our publicly funded broadcaster CBC, Comedy Central(which isn’t even Canadian, we have our own station called Comedy Network) and the NHL, which has it’s own network, but isn’t really even really a broadcaster. Global is notable in their absence from the service.

So of these 4 networks, we are offered Canadian fare like Corner Gas, Robson Arms, Dragon’s Den, Little Mosque on the Prairie, Stanley Cup Classics and No Opportunity Wasted. WTF? Here’s a look at what has been the top rated shows in the last week for Canada and the US.

From what I can tell, there are exactly 0 of these shows available for download in Canada. The US store launched with LOST, Desperate Housewives and The Office. The best US fare we get is South Park, The Hills and The Sarah Silverman Program. The US store is obviously a lot more established, but that is just pathetic. The pricing of the shows is on par with the US, but for the sake of saying, didn’t I already pay for Little Mosque on the Prairie with my tax dollars? I know it’s just a start for the service, but the fact that the US store is so entrenched and established led me to believe that maybe Canada wouldn’t be starting from scratch with the launch of their service. I clearly was mistaken.