Here is another list with a more international flavour.  Who knew that Falco had a big hit here but not so great south of the border, or Laura Branigan and many others?  Most of these I remember and some you don't hear anymore...https://www.google.com/search?q=international+songs+that+were+hits+in+canada+but+not+the+usa&rlz=1C1GGRV_enCA751CA751&oq=international+songs+that+were+hits+in+canada+but+not+the+usa&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIKCAEQABiABBiiBDIKCAIQABiABBiiBDIHCAMQABjvBTIHCAQQABjvBTIKCAUQABiABBiiBNIBCTEyOTI3ajBqN6gCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:2f61de5d,vid:c1KR0z52DqE,st:0

There’s an electronic artist named Frank Walker who has had a few successful singles here, but not much notice elsewhere. Two of his more well-known songs are “Only When It Rains” with Astrid S, and “Heartbreak Back” with Riley Biederer.

Frank Walker is also the son of Belinda Stronach.

The Nikki Yanofsky song was driven down our throats during the Olympics 

Jody Thornton wrote:

paterson1 wrote:

Most of these I remember and some you don't hear anymore.

Jon and Vangelis with the "Friends of Mr Cairo" also comes to mind.
 

According to Wikipedia, Canada was the only country where it charted, and it was a #1 hit at that!

Some other examples that I was surprised weren't included: Tears For Fears "Pale Shelter" and "Change", as well as Fine Young Cannibals "Johnny Come Home" and "Suspicious Minds". All of those were hits in Canada but failed to crack the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S.



PJ
 

Chrisphen wrote:

Fine Young Cannibals were heavy rotation on stations like 99.9  and CHUM-FM for a few decades. I hope it feathered their nests appropriately.

Were these FM hit-to-non-hit ratio requirements at play?
 

paterson1 wrote:

I noticed on the clip that I posted that most of the songs were from the MuchMusic era.  Much had a huge influence on what ended up on radio.  If they got on a song and put it in a high rotation, the song almost always was played later on radio.  Beyond the obvious hits and cancon, Much also tended to play more European artists than MTV.

 
I think MuchMusic became the “hit maker” in Canada for certain. I was living in Regina when they launched and at the time, the local radio stations played tons of North American artists, that soon changed. Thanks to Much we started hearing more European/UK artists, especially on FM. My friend ran a record store and noticed that he was getting order requests for such artists, which he didn’t get too much of before. He ended up having a section of vinyl he labeled “Featured on MuchMusic”, which usually had 10 or so artists that were not mainstream, yet. Yes, Much was pretty big, and I loved it back in the day! It was way better than MTV, plus it was live, unlike the canned stuff from down south!

Here is a list of 231 singles that went #1 in Canada but not the US.  Some are pretty remarkable since a few very popular songs that got to the top position technically didn't chart in the US but were more radio hits.  Although the author says to take the 1990-98 songs with a grain of salt since some categories were changed during this time.

Mr Jones- Counting Crows #1 in Canada, didn't chart in US (radio hit)
No Doubt- Don't Speak didn't chart in US (radio hit) but #1 here
Annie Lennox- Broken Glass #14 in US #1 Canada
Dr. And The Medics- Spirit In The Sky #69 and #1 here

Here is the total list, but some of these are a little hard to believe..https://rateyourmusic.com/list/PhrostByteSingles/_1-singles-in-canada-that-werent-1-in-us/1/

Lorne wrote:

I Got A Line On You by Spirit actually charted better on CHUM (peaking at #17) than on Billboard (#25).

Thanks for the correction on that. I actually did notice the song just a few years ago on a CHUM chart I have from March or April 1969 but was surprised to see it as I don't remember hearing the song on Toronto radio until I started to listen to CHUM FM later,

Just remembered two songs that were number 1 in Toronto but probably did very little in the US, Cornflakes and Ice Cream by the Lords of London and Gaslight by the Ugly Ducklings, the latter though was played in some US markets. Pittsburg being one that I recall.

I was at CFTR the week they added The Split Enz song into the rotation for the first time. I remember Bill Gable, the P.D. then, going up to everyone and playing the record, because he was sure it would be a big hit and he wanted to jump on it before CHUM. 

It did OK and his faith in the 45 was rewarded but I don't think it was the huge smash he hoped it would be. Still, based on what I recall from that day, 'TR may have played it before CHUM, which was a big deal to him.

RIP Brother Bill. You were a great jock. 

Easily Amused wrote:

Someone please explain the relative success of
'Mouth and Macneal'. 🤔🙉

Well, that's a fine How Do You Do...