How common? It seems like it would be cheaper for most parts of the country to install electric baseboards than to ship in the coal you'd need for the winter.
You’ve clearly never paid the electric bill for a house that used electric baseboards for heat in the winter. 5k cad/yr in BC for a 3000 sq ft house with 6 occupants. Bill for June and July is only $100, it’s all winter heating load.
Comparitively natural gas bills are about $200 for two months in the winter. Many people heat with wood and the air quality goes to shit.
Holy hell $100 in the mild BC summer?! According to Google Vancouver varies between 14 and 22 degrees Celsius in June and July. That's t-shirt weather - don't even need heating at night if you've got good insulation.
I think your problem might be your general usage patterns (running clothes dryer, dishwasher too much or at peak times, inefficient lighting or leaving lights on everywhere, zombie draw from electronics) and the efficiency of your insulation, not merely the cost of electric baseboards. Or maybe power is just crazy expensive up there, I dunno.