Welcome to my site on how to import a vehicle into Canada
Thank you for visiting my site on how to import a vehicle into Canada. I hope to provide you with all the information you need for the import process and links to any additional resources or tools that will be useful.
As I write this, the Canadian dollar is above parity with the US Dollar creating an opportune time to purchase a vehicle in the US for a significant savings. Fundamentally, I feel it is wrong that we will pay 20-30% more for the identical products in Canada. Even a car manufactured in Canada and imported to the US can be cheaper in the US then in Canada. Thanks to NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) there are no duties on vehicles manufactured in the US or Canada. So you are free to import and save money on many big ticket purchases…like most cars, so long as you follow the rules.
And for those of you with vehicles from outside North America, you can import those too under certain circumstances.
What is the definition of Vehicle?
According to Transport Canada it is “Any vehicle that is capable of being driven or drawn on roads by any means other than muscle power exclusively, but does not include any vehicle designed to run exclusively on rails.” So this definition covers a lot of different vehicles from Cars, motorcycles, ATVs, snowmobiles to trailers.
There are three types of imported vehicles
- Vehicles that require to be registered in Registrar of Imported Vehicles Program
- Vehicles that are not required to be part of the RIV program
- Lastly Vehicles deemed prohibited or inadmissible.
Don’t let the process daunt you…its really not that difficult.
My hope is that this site will be able to guide you through the process to figure out if your vehicle is allowed, how much it will cost, Customs procedures, and how to register it and get it on the road.