I love maltese!! I currently have one and will be getting another one in a couple of months as soon as she is old enough.
Personality wise, they are much more calmer than yorkies and they are true lapdogs, they just love being on your lap and cuddling.
The biggest differences as far as looks go, is obviously the color, maltese are white, the tail is not docked and is carried over their back and their ears are down. Maltese are the same size as yorkies.
As for the coat, maltese have silky straight coats just like yorkies. But like some yorkies you will have a maltese with a cotton coat which is a pain to deal with.
The only thing I find that can be a pain with them is the tear staining. Most maltese tear stain and it requires alot of care to keep the tear stains away. Of course the excellent maltese with great pedigrees will have little to no tear staining.
The cost for a maltese is usually around the same price as yorkies but they can be a little higher in some places. I can't complain about how much I paid for mine because Poptart only cost me $200 and my female will be about $400,but that is only because my really good friend breeds maltese and I get them cheap from her.
Sorry, I don't know any breeders in Canada.
Here is a picture of my maltese Poptart with my two yorkies. Poptart looks really blurry in the picture when you make it bigger. I can't figure out why it does this because the actual pictures are crystal clear and perfect and not fuzzy or blurry at all. I think my scanner may be going bad.
Chloeandj, I just saw your post. Your maltese girls are soooo gorgeous!!!!