What licences does an Ontario business need if it wants to import or export goods?

Importing and exporting are regulated federally, not provincially, so the licences and registrations involved come from the federal government rather than Ontario. Most businesses importing or exporting commercially first need a business number with an import/export account registered with the Canada Revenue Agency, and shipments generally need to be reported to the Canada Border Services Agency with the correct tariff classification and any applicable duties or GST/HST paid at the border.

Beyond that baseline, specific goods can trigger their own licensing requirements administered by different federal agencies: food, plant, and animal products typically involve inspection agency requirements, certain controlled or strategic goods can require an export or import permit, and some products face additional labelling or safety-standard rules before they can be sold. Because the requirements depend on what you are actually importing or exporting rather than the type of business, there is no single "import/export licence" that covers everything — the applicable rules have to be identified product by product, and businesses new to cross-border trade often work with a licensed customs broker to navigate classification and documentation.