While only a few may understand how important this question is, this issue affects everyone.
So here's my burning question: Why is the bootloader locked for phones sold in Canada?
A few years ago, before the S8, phones sold in Canada did not have their bootloaders locked. Even today, tablets sold by Samsung in Canada do not have a locked bootloader. The Galaxy Tab S5e I'm using, despite the Snapdragon 670, proudly offers me the "OEM Unlock" option in Developer Options. The Tab S4, using the very same Snapdragon 835 as our S8 and Note8 offers the option too, unlike its pocketable siblings. There's also the matter that the same S8, Note8, S9, Note9, S10, Note10 sold in Latin America and other lucky places in this world possess unlocked bootloaders, with the very same Snapdragon SoCs.
Now here's a little information on "what in the world is a bootloader" and "why would I want an unlocked one".
Your device's bootloader, basically, permits or not the installation and execution of other OSes. When Samsung pulls the plug on your device and ceases software updates (and with flagships still not having 3 major OS updates, this comes rather soon for such expensive devices), your choices are either to upgrade (even if your device is still working perfectly and you don't want to upgrade), remain on outdated software OR flash a custom ROM and enjoy a new lease on life for your device. You can also use a custom ROM or other advanced tweaks to unlock the full potential of your device. It basically lets you own your own device.
So here's my question. I had a lot of other questions but if we're only picking one absolute must, this would be the one. I was really hoping to know the rationale behind this decision from an official so that we can all understand why the bootloader is locked in Canada for phones.
