Shipping from China to Canada — and the CARM registration that has to happen first.

CARM is CBSA's Assessment and Revenue Management system, and yes — importers of record must be registered on the CARM Client Portal and post their own financial security before goods can be released. This replaced the older arrangement where importers could effectively rely on a broker's bond. It is the single most common reason a first Canadian shipment stalls, so we verify your registration status before booking rather than after arrival.

By sea, 13–18 days to Vancouver and 13–17 days to Prince Rupert, or 30–38 days to Montreal via Panama. By air, 3–7 days door to door into Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, or Calgary. Add origin pickup, customs, and final-mile delivery to any ocean figure, and remember that a Vancouver arrival bound for Toronto still needs several days of rail.

Both work and the answer is a cost comparison rather than a rule. Vancouver gives a much shorter ocean leg but adds a transcontinental rail or trucking leg. Montreal roughly doubles the sailing time but lands the container far closer to Ontario. Prince Rupert is worth quoting too, since it is built around rail transfer and often has lower dwell. We price all three against your address.

Duty is set by your classification under the Canadian Customs Tariff, and GST of 5 percent applies to most imports. Depending on the province and the goods, provincial sales tax may apply as well. Under DDP we settle duty and GST and quote one landed number; otherwise they are payable by you as importer of record at entry.

We prepare and coordinate the full document set — commercial invoice, packing list, classification, and importer details — and work with a licensed Canadian broker for the entry. What we cannot do is act as your importer of record or post your CARM security; those sit with your business by design. We tell you clearly which parts are ours and which are yours.