Running a craft business in Canada as a sole proprietor or small incorporated entity involves administrative requirements that vary by province and by how the maker chooses to structure their sales. The following covers the main practical areas makers typically navigate during the first several years of operating.

Business registration

A maker operating under their own legal name is technically a sole proprietor in Canada and does not need to register a business name. Most artisans who sell under a trading name — such as a studio name or craft brand — register that name with their provincial business registry. In Ontario, this costs $60 for a five-year registration through ServiceOntario. British Columbia charges $31.50 for a sole proprietorship registration with BC Registry Services.

Registration does not create a separate legal entity. The maker remains personally liable for business debts and obligations. Some artisans eventually incorporate — which does create a separate legal entity — primarily for liability protection or tax planning purposes, but this step involves legal and accounting fees that make it relevant mainly once the business generates substantial annual revenue.

GST/HST registration

Under the Excise Tax Act, Canadian small businesses with annual taxable revenues below $30,000 are not required to register for GST/HST. Many craft makers begin operating below this threshold and can charge prices without adding tax, which simplifies transactions at market tables.

Once revenue crosses $30,000 in four consecutive calendar quarters, registration becomes mandatory. Registered businesses collect GST (5% federally) and, in participating provinces, the harmonized portion — giving HST rates of 13% in Ontario, 15% in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island, and 12% in British Columbia. Artisans selling in person across provincial borders face the rate of the buyer's province of delivery.

Pricing handmade goods

Pricing handcrafted goods is a recurring difficulty for makers who enter the market without a clear cost-accounting practice. The commonly cited formula in Canadian craft communities is:

Cost of materials + (hourly rate × hours to produce) + overhead allocation = production cost. Retail price = production cost × 2 to 2.5

The multiplier of 2 to 2.5 accounts for the margin needed to sustain wholesale relationships (where buyers expect to mark goods up by 100% to 200%) and for the general viability of the business. Makers who price at production cost alone often find that after market fees, packaging, and transit costs, their effective hourly return falls below minimum wage.

Provincial minimum wages in Canada as of 2026 range from $14.60 per hour in Saskatchewan to $17.40 in British Columbia. A maker using their province's minimum wage as their baseline hourly labour cost will often find that their prices exceed what comparable mass-produced goods cost at retail — which is accurate, and which is the correct conclusion. The alternative is to treat some portion of the labour as uncompensated, which is a common but financially unsustainable practice.

Market participation costs

The cost of attending craft markets is a significant variable in the annual economics of a craft business. A maker who attends 20 markets per year in Ontario, paying an average table fee of $120 per market, spends $2,400 on market fees alone before accounting for transit, accommodation (for out-of-town events), packaging, display infrastructure, and the opportunity cost of the market day itself.

Larger juried fairs carry higher fees — the One of a Kind Show's booth fees range from approximately $800 to over $2,000 depending on booth size — but generally deliver higher sales volumes. The cost-per-sale calculation at a large three-day fair with strong attendance often compares favourably to attending several smaller single-day markets, though the upfront cost is higher and the risk if the fair underperforms is correspondingly greater.

Online sales channels

Most Canadian craft makers use at least one online channel alongside market attendance. The two most common are Etsy (a US-based marketplace that generates significant Canadian maker traffic) and a maker's own website using hosted e-commerce — typically Shopify or a WordPress-based equivalent.

Etsy charges a CAD $0.27 listing fee per item (converted from USD $0.20 at prevailing rates), a 6.5% transaction fee on the sale price including shipping, and payment processing fees. Makers selling cross-border to US buyers encounter additional currency exchange considerations. Despite the fee structure, Etsy's search traffic is a meaningful source of sales for many Canadian artisans, particularly those in gift-category segments like jewellery, printed goods, and home décor items.

A maker's own website avoids per-transaction fees but requires the maker to generate their own traffic through search visibility, social media, or an email list — each of which takes time to develop. Most makers who operate their own site find it supplements rather than replaces Etsy or market attendance during the first several years.

Wholesale accounts

Some Canadian artisans develop wholesale accounts with independent retail shops — particularly gift shops, design stores, and boutiques that curate local or handmade goods. Wholesale pricing is typically 50% of the maker's retail price. This means the cost-accounting and retail pricing work described above must be done accurately before a maker can determine whether wholesale is financially viable for their work.

Independent retailers purchasing Canadian handmade goods are concentrated in larger urban centres — Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary — and in tourist-oriented smaller towns in regions such as Prince Edward Island, the Okanagan Valley, and the Niagara Peninsula. The Canadian Crafts Federation and provincial craft councils maintain professional development resources for makers interested in developing wholesale relationships, including guidance on minimum order requirements and consignment versus net-30 payment terms.

Record-keeping requirements

The Canada Revenue Agency requires businesses to retain financial records for a minimum of six years from the end of the last tax year to which they relate. For craft makers, this includes receipts for materials, market registration confirmations showing fees paid, any income from sales, and records of any business-related mileage. Accurate records also make it possible to calculate the actual annual return from the business — a figure that many makers, when they first calculate it properly, find lower than they expected.

Last updated: May 14, 2026