Why Canada is not a smaller US account
Cost per click on amazon.ca tends to be lower than in the US across most categories, and that gap has been a lasting feature of the market. An account that is properly structured, with tight negative keyword hygiene and accurate targeting, can therefore get noticeably better advertising efficiency in Canada than the same effort would in the US. Agencies that transplant a US campaign structure without rebuilding it for Canadian search behaviour leave that advantage unused.
Quebec's language legislation requires French product information for goods sold into the province, and Amazon.ca serves English and French speaking Canada from one marketplace. This is a real compliance requirement, and it needs French copy written by a native speaker. A machine translation added at the end does not do the job.
GST or HST registration is required once you cross the relevant threshold, and the rate depends on which province the sale is attributed to, because Canada uses a mix of federal GST and provincial HST across regions. An agency that handles Canadian accounts regularly will know this without having to look it up mid-conversation.
The market also behaves differently in ways a US-only team may not expect. Shoppers compare prices in Canadian dollars against what they see on US sites, cross-border shipping times shape expectations, and many categories have fewer competing sellers. All of this changes which keywords are worth bidding on and how aggressive pricing needs to be.
Cross-border brands and what actually needs rebuilding
Most brands entering Canada already sell in the US, and the temptation is to treat amazon.ca as a copy-paste job: same listings, same campaigns, same bids, different currency symbol. That approach consistently underperforms. Canadian search terms differ from US ones even in English, French requirements apply to a large share of the market, and importer of record and customs arrangements need their own setup, separate from US fulfilment.
The practical question for a prospective agency is what they would rebuild and what they would copy from your US account. A team that has done this before will name specific things: French backend search terms and content for categories that matter in Quebec, a fresh keyword harvest from Canadian search data instead of reused US terms, and confirmation of your GST or HST registration status before launch.
Spelling and vocabulary are a good quick test. Canadian English mixes British and American spelling, and some product names differ. An agency that has run Canadian campaigns will have seen search terms that never appear in US reports and will have added them as their own keywords.
Fulfilment planning needs its own conversation. Some brands ship into Canadian FBA directly, others use a hybrid arrangement, and the right answer depends on volume and how central Canada is to the overall growth plan. An agency should have a clear recommendation instead of defaulting to whatever the US setup already uses.
Fulfilment options compared
There are two main routes for FBA sellers, and the choice changes costs, delivery speed and who deals with customs.
The first is Remote Fulfillment with FBA, which Amazon describes on its Remote Fulfillment page. Canadian orders are fulfilled from your US FBA inventory. The customer is the importer of record and pays any import duties, taxes and fees. You pay the Remote Fulfillment with FBA costs plus the Amazon.ca referral fee, which replace your US FBA costs and referral fees for those orders. Amazon's Build International Listings tool can copy eligible US offers to Amazon.ca and keep prices in sync after allowing for differences in fulfilment costs, referral fees and exchange rates. If you change the Canadian price by hand, that automatic link breaks until you reconnect it.
The second is sending inventory into Canadian fulfilment centres. You or your customs broker handle the import, and you need a plan for who acts as importer of record. Delivery to Canadian customers is usually faster and the per-order costs can be lower at volume, but you are carrying stock in a second country and managing a second inbound process.
A reasonable rule: use Remote Fulfillment to test demand with little commitment, and move best sellers into Canadian FBA once their volume justifies the extra inventory and the customs setup. A good agency will model both against your own numbers rather than picking one by habit.
Sales tax basics an agency should know
Canada's sales taxes are more varied than the GST/HST shorthand suggests. The Canada Revenue Agency's rate table shows a 5% GST in provinces such as Alberta, a 13% HST in Ontario, and separate provincial taxes on top of GST in British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Quebec. Where a sale is taxed, and at what rate, depends on where it is delivered.
On registration, the CRA's guidance on when to register explains the small supplier test: you generally stay a small supplier while your worldwide taxable revenue does not exceed $30,000 over four consecutive calendar quarters. The same page notes that non-residents selling goods located in Canada may need to register under separate rules for the digital economy. If you hold stock in Canadian fulfilment centres, that applies to you.
None of this is the agency's job to file. What you want is an agency that raises it before launch and works with your accountant, so that tax setup does not lag behind the advertising.
What to ask before hiring
Ask how they handle French language requirements for Quebec: whether copy is written natively or translated, and by whom. It is the step most often skipped in Canadian launches and the one most likely to leave a compliance gap that nobody notices until Amazon or a regulator flags it.
Ask whether they rebuild the keyword and campaign structure for Canada or extend the US structure with a currency change. If they extend it, that is not disqualifying on its own, but you want to know before you start so you can set expectations about performance.
Ask about their GST or HST registration guidance and whether they work with an accountant who knows Canadian tax obligations. Getting this wrong does not usually block selling straight away the way a VAT lapse can in the UK, but it creates a compliance liability that grows over time.
A few more questions sort experienced teams from those learning on your account:
- Which Canadian accounts have you managed, and in which categories? Can I speak to one of those clients?
- Would you recommend Remote Fulfillment or Canadian FBA for my catalogue, and why?
- How do you report Canadian performance: in Canadian dollars, and separately from the US account?
- Who writes French content, and how is it checked before upload?
- How do you handle pricing when the exchange rate moves sharply?
For the general framework that applies in any country, see our guide on how to choose an Amazon agency, and for running Canada alongside other marketplaces, our article on agency help with international expansion.
Signs Canada is an afterthought for the agency
Some warning signs show up in the proposal before you sign. The Canadian scope is a single line item under the US account. The plan mentions French content but no named writer or review step. The keyword plan reuses US search term reports. Reporting is promised in US dollars only, or Canada appears as one row in a US dashboard. Fulfilment is not discussed at all.
None of these means the agency cannot do good work in Canada. Together they suggest the team will spend its attention on the bigger US account and apply leftovers north of the border. If Canada matters to your plan, ask for a named person responsible for it and a separate monthly review of its numbers.
A Canadian launch checklist
- Decide the fulfilment route for each ASIN: Remote Fulfillment, Canadian FBA or merchant fulfilled.
- Confirm importer of record and customs broker arrangements if stock will be held in Canada.
- Check GST/HST and provincial tax registration with an accountant before the first sale.
- Write native French titles, bullets, descriptions and backend terms for the catalogue.
- Run keyword research on Canadian search data and build Canada-specific campaigns.
- Set prices in Canadian dollars on purpose, with a rule for exchange rate swings.
- Agree reporting that shows Canada on its own, so its results are not lost inside the US numbers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Products sold into Quebec need French product information under provincial law, and because Amazon.ca serves the whole country from one marketplace, most sellers provide French content across their Canadian catalogue rather than trying to restrict it by region. Copy written by a native French speaker converts better than a direct translation, so treat it as real content work rather than a compliance checkbox.
Generally yes. Cost per click tends to be lower across most categories, which is one of the more overlooked reasons to do a proper Canadian build instead of treating Canada as a secondary market. The gap varies by category and changes as more advertisers enter, so check current figures for your own category instead of assuming.
Yes, through Remote Fulfillment with FBA, where Canadian orders are shipped from your US inventory and the customer pays import duties and taxes as importer of record. It typically costs more per order than holding dedicated Canadian FBA inventory, so whether it makes sense depends on your Canadian order volume. An agency should model both options against your actual numbers instead of defaulting to one.
Once you cross the applicable revenue threshold, yes, and the rate depends on the province the sale is attributed to, since Canada uses a mix of federal GST and provincial HST. Confirm current requirements with an accountant who knows Canadian tax obligations before scaling volume.
Often yes, for consistency in brand and pricing strategy, provided the agency actually rebuilds the Canadian campaign structure and content instead of copying the US account with a currency change. Ask what changes for Canada before assuming that continuity means better management.
It depends mostly on French content and fulfilment. A brand using Remote Fulfillment with listings copied from the US can go live quickly. A launch with native French content, Canadian FBA stock and a rebuilt campaign structure takes longer, because translation, customs setup and the first inbound shipment all have to be ready first. Ask the agency for a dated plan that shows each of these steps.