Starting an Online Store in Ontario: What Small Retailers Need to Know

Government and industry data put Canadian e-commerce past $40 billion in 2024, still growing roughly 10% a year, with Ontario and BC together generating more than half of that revenue. If you're a small Ontario retailer thinking about selling online, the demand is real — but a lot of generic e-commerce advice online is written for the US market and skips the parts that are actually different up here.

What's actually different selling in Canada

• GST/HST needs to be calculated correctly by province — Ontario's HST isn't the same as a flat US sales tax setup
• Pricing and checkout should be in CAD by default for a Canadian customer base
• Shipping logistics and expectations differ from US-centric platform defaults

Getting the platform choice right

Shopify remains the most common choice for small Canadian retailers for good reason — solid Canadian payment and tax support, and a large ecosystem of apps and help when something needs customizing. The bigger decision usually isn't which platform, it's making sure the setup — tax rules, shipping zones, payment processing — is actually configured correctly for Ontario from day one, rather than copied from a US template and fixed later.

Where this fits

E-commerce setup is included at Loqify's Authority tier ($2,999+ setup, $299/mo) — a custom, e-commerce-ready build rather than a generic template. This isn't a pivot into being an e-commerce-only shop; it's one more thing built properly when a business actually needs to sell online.