Interestingly i changed my car from a 2010 Ford Edge AWD SEL to a 2013 AUDI A4 S Line and my insurance went down by $500 per annum

One of the factors that plays into insurance rates in Canada is the health costs associated with those unfortunately involved in an accident. These costs are usually a lot more substantial than the damage to the vehicle itself. For newer model year vehicles, there isn't a lot of data to go by, so insurers use a standard factor, and adjust as more data becomes available.

Insurance rates in Canada can be frustrating: At one point a few years ago, I remember seeing that the most expensive 'normal' car to insure was a two-door Honda Civic. The least expensive? A four-door Honda Civic

Yeah this is really weird. The value of car or brand doesn't seem to matter much all in Canada. Like someone said just get a car you like..

Its really strange that all those cheap cars like Civic and Corollas tend to have the most expensive insurance.

There are odd discrepancies with motorcycles too. Buy a 165bhp sports bike that's a fraction under a litre in capacity and insurance is considerably less expensive than a 1250cc adventure bike or a large capacity tourer. Break the 1000cc barrier and you get stung. Power to weight ratio, acceleration and ultimate performance have an illogical effect on premiums on bikes that size.

Does the colour of the car affect the insurance premium over here? I know it matters in the UK

Insurance and quotes are not as we'd expect as per UK standards. Moller insurance who my broker was with when first got my car insurance last year with them, informed me having a smaller car does not mean cheaper car insurance over here. Here it's more a case of it being cheaper the bigger the vehicle you have as less likely to get written off the bigger it is, for example a truck will most likely be cheaper insurance than a very small car (that's what they fed back to me).

Does it matter in the UK? I'd heard that colour of car has been used in various studies but I don't think it's ever been a rating factor. Pretty sure that it isn't over here either.

More important in determining premium in Ontario is the distance you drive to work, so commuting the 401 everyday will bump up your premium vs driving 5km to the local GO station.