Do you want to start an e-commerce business in Canada?I was talking to a neighbor in Burlington the day. She wanted to leave her job to sell hand-poured candles on the internet. The neighbor had some ideas for smells. Like “Rainy Day, in Tofino” and “Old Montreal Library”.. When it came to actually doing it the neighbor did not know where to start with her hand-poured candles business. She was really struggling with the process of selling hand-poured candles online.
People often feel this way. If you have been looking at Shopify success stories and thinking if you can still do something the answer is yes. But let us be honest: the Canadian market is a little different. You have to deal with taxes in each province which can be confusing. And it is really expensive to send a package from Halifax to Vancouver so you need a plan that’s just, for Canada. So, not something you copy from the United States.
Start an E-commerce Business in Canada Guide
If you are ready to stop dreaming and start doing here is the guide with no information on how to start an e-commerce business in Canada in 2026. This guide is about how to start an e-commerce business in Canada. It will tell you what you need to know to start an e-commerce business, in Canada.
1. Find Your Niche (And Be Honest About the Logistics)
Most people will tell you to follow your passion. I would suggest that you follow the margins instead. In Canada weight is really bad for business. This is because the people of Canada are spread out over such an area of land so shipping something that is heavy. Like a big cast-iron skillet is going to cost you a lot of money and hurt your profits very quickly kind of like how a beaver can quickly chew through a poplar tree.
When you are thinking about how to start an e-commerce business in Canada you should consider things that’re very valuable but do not weigh a lot. It seems that people are really interested in how to start an e-commerce business in Canada that sell specific products, like special gear for people who take cold plunges or supplies for people who have gardens in the city and want to be kind to the earth. These kinds of e-commerce business in Canada are doing better, than stores that sell a lot of things. You should try to find something that will fit in a box that Canada Post uses for flat rate shipping if you can.
2. The Legal “Paperwork” (The BN and Beyond)
You do not necessarily need to set up your company on the day but you do need a Business Number (BN), from the Canada Revenue Agency. Getting a Business Number is a boring process but it is really important if you plan on importing goods or collecting tax with your Business Number.
Then there is the Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax. If you are making than $30,000 a year you do not have to register for the Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax but many people do it anyway so they can get their Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax credits back.
The Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax credits are important for people who are running a business.
However I have noticed that for people who are just starting out it might be easier to wait until you actually see some sales before dealing with the Provincial Sales Tax and Quebec Sales Tax registration process for provinces.
It is a bit of a balancing act between doing things the way and feeling overwhelmed, with the Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax and the Provincial Sales Tax and Quebec Sales Tax.
3. Choosing Your Digital Storefront for your E-commerce Business in Canada
Since we are talking about how to start an e-commerce business in Canada it would be a mistake not to talk about Shopify. Shopify is based in Ottawa and the Shopify platform is really made for the tax laws in Canada. Shopify is like a solution for people who want to start an e-commerce business, in Canada. Using Shopify is the way to do it.
That being said, if you are a maker Etsy might seem like an idea because they already have a lot of people visiting their site. The bad thing about Etsy is that they take a part of the money you make. If you know a lot, about technology and you want to keep every penny you earn you can use WooCommerce.. You have to be ready to spend your free time fixing problems with WooCommerce instead of selling things.
4. The Shipping Problem (And the “Cheat Codes”)
This is the place where a lot of dreams fall apart. Canada Post is a service that you can count on. It can cost a lot of money for a small startup, like Canada Post.
Luckily there are things that can help us save money on shipping. If you live near a city you should check out companies like Chitchats Stallion Express or NetParcel. These companies are called shipping aggregators. They buy a lot of shipping labels at the time and then give the money they save to people like us who need to ship things. Sometimes Chitchats Stallion Express or NetParcel can even take our packages to the border and put them directly into the United States Postal Service system, which’s really weird because it is often cheaper than shipping something, inside our own country.
5. Managing the “Tax Salad” for the E-commerce Business in Canada
When you sell something to a person in Alberta you have to think about the five percent goods and services tax. This is very different from selling to someone in Ontario, where they have to pay thirteen percent in sales tax. It is also different from selling to someone in Quebec, where they have to pay fifteen percent between the goods and services tax and the Quebec sales tax.
- You may also like: Ultimate Guide for Online Business in Canada
Most modern platforms like Shopify can handle these taxes for you automatically. You should still know how they work. You need to understand how the taxes in Alberta and the taxes in Ontario and Quebec are different so you can do things correctly. Selling to someone in Alberta with the five percent goods and services tax is one example and you have to consider the taxes in other places like Ontario with its thirteen percent harmonized sales tax and Quebec with its nearly fifteen percent, in taxes.
In the year 2026 one thing that seems to be popular is pricing. People really do not like it when they get to the checkout and see that the price has gone up a lot because of taxes. If the money you make from selling something is enough it might be an idea to include the tax in the price.. At least you should make sure to tell people about the tax, on the pages where you sell your products. This way people know what they are getting into when they buy something from you. Transparent pricing is something that customers like. It can help you sell more things.
6. Marketing Without Losing Your Mind
You do not need to spend a lot of money on advertisements. For people in Canada the fact that something is local is really important. This can be very helpful to you. The Canadian market is about local products and services so use the fact that you are local, to your advantage.
- TikTok/Reels: People really like it when you show them what is going on behind the scenes. So you should make a video of you packing an order. You can wear your winter coat in the video. That way people can see what you do when you are getting an order ready. They will like seeing the winter coat and how you pack the order.
- SEO: Use localized keywords. Instead of just “organic soap,” try “handmade organic soap Canada” or “Toronto skincare.”
- Email: This is the thing that’s really important to you. A customers email address is worth more than having a lot of people following you on Instagram. This is because you have a connection with the people on your email list and that is something that you really have it is like your own personal thing. You actually own the relationship, with the people who give you their Email address.
Is it Still Worth it to Start an E-commerce Business in Canadain in 2026?
I am not going to tell a lie and say that selling products is a dream where you do not have to do work. It is a lot of work. You will probably spend time at the post office than you would like to spend.. There is something really satisfying about seeing an order come in from a tiny town in the Yukon and knowing that your product is going to be shipped to that tiny town in the Yukon. Your product is really going to be used by someone in a town, in the Yukon.
The idea of buying local in Canada is really popular. People in Canada want to help out their neighbors of a big company that does not have a face. If you can make a product and be nice to your customers then you have already done a lot of the work with the buy local idea. The buy local sentiment is what people, in Canada care about.
I hope this helps you get off the sidelines and into the game. There’s plenty of room in the Canadian e-commerce space for one more smart, dedicated seller.
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