hi. i will be in Canada in 4 months time and i'm looking for a shop which is equivalent to Argos & Robert Dyas wherein i can mainly buy any household goods for my flat.

Try www.flyermall.com or www.flyerland.ca
for some ideas.

they are more like a coupons site. i need a store that you just order then buy the thing right inside the store like Argos or similar to Robert Dyas

http://www.sears.ca/gp/home.html

Years ago there was an ARGO type operation in Canada, but no more. I had a look at the Robert Dyas website and the closest thing I can think of here is Canadian Tire which is coast to coast.

Aah you filled in the gaps with that comment...was it Consumers Distributing?

Yep, that was it. I could remember Consumers but no more. It was a useless organization. It seemed to me that almost everything I went to buy was out of stock.

I think I've said this before, but I'll say it again - don't see the need/point of Argos in Canada, if you want a shop that carries that kind of range, then you just build one. Plenty of space and no need for the catalogue system...

Price and choice would be a compelling argument for an Argos. Ordering from the Sears catalogue, the closest thing we have to Argos in the West yields the usual "Thank you for your order, that will take eight weeks until delivery".... hardly offers the same convenience factor. The large box outlets all sell the same tat from the same suppliers.

home hardware here seems similar to robert dyas.

HH is a franchise owned chain. Depends where you you are, but closer to Van = wider selection of the same tat sold by Crappy Tire. Their suppliers are owned by the same parent company.

are they cheap as well?

are their prices as "affordable" as Argos or say B&Q? do they have big retail stores and high street shops as well?

Have you been to Canada? "High Streets" in a shopping sense simply don't exist

Most big stores sell EVERYTHING... and I mean everything. You can get groceries and car parts, furniture, lawnmowers, electricals, sports equipment, pet care (getting the picture here?) all from one store. Stores that spring to mind are:
Zellers
Walmart
Canadian Superstore
Canadian Tire (no groceries)
Costco