In speaking with the staff at Sirius, the current plan is this:

Provided they can work out the finances to meet the CRTC requires and still offer it in Canada for a price comparable to what it goes for in the US, they will launch in either September or January, based on the time it takes to implement the back-end infrastructure.

The option to totally blow Canada off remains an option for both XM and Sirius if it is deemed that meeting the CRTC goals would not make the whole thing profitable.

In terms of distribution, Car audio pieces such as the black box solutions from Alpine, Clarion, Pioneer and Kenwood make up less than 20% of the current XM/Sirius sales in the US - the target market is not actually car audio, but radio / music enthusiasts in general and home and transportable sales hold the majority of market share. Canadian Tire, Best Buy, Walmart and so forth with sell the majority of these units.

If I were to go satellite radio, I would prefer to go with a portable unit that I can use at home and in the car (via RCA-mini adapter). I guess the issue would be with the antenna. Anyone have experiences with a portable unit?

This is a perfect reason to get a tuner and purchase the lifetime sub for it. I know i'll always run Alpine and can move my SIRALP1 between system/cars.