I wanted the same thing, a blender that was awesome at crushing ice.
Vitamix came up a lot during my search, but all signs eventually pointed to this one for the $ ...
Oster BPST02-B Professional Series Blender
http://www.amazon.com/Oster-BPST02-B...pr_product_top
I'm not sure if you can get it here in Canada. I had a friend pick one up for me down in the States at Sam's Club for under $50.
It has worked amazingly well for crushing ice and is definitely powerful. It only has one speed, it's either off or jet engine noise.