Mike, there's actually at least one manufacturer of traction kites in your province...I know some folks who have bought them. A lot of guys here have changed to the Flysurfer model from Germany. Its expensive ($2,500 +) but the inherant safety in their design is next to nothing else on the market.
Keep an eye on Ebay for kites. Ebay Germany is where most used Flysurfer's come from but I have seen them in Canada and US. I bought mine used from Arizona for $600.
Also, read up on kitesurfing. This sport is very dangerous and most of the mags have at least one or two obituaries every publication...and that's over water. Add in kiting on a hard surface and you get the picture.
I picked up a "trainer" kite first and put a few hours on that. The sport is about 80% kite flying and 20% skiing or boarding.
There's also a Skimbat and I have one of those too. Its much safer, about 20-30 minutes to learn but you need big wind. Here's a link to a place that has some videos of that..www.skywings.fi/
I picked mine up used again from Sask for about $400.
Sure makes winter seem shorter!
