Does selling to a non-resident buyer change how much tax I pay compared to a Canadian buyer?

Generally, no — as a Canadian resident seller, your own tax treatment on the gain from selling your shares or your business's assets is determined by your own residency and the nature of what you're selling, not by who the buyer happens to be. The capital gains exemption, if your shares qualify, is available regardless of whether the buyer is Canadian or foreign, and the basic character of your gain (capital gain versus income, for example) doesn't change based on the buyer's residency either.

Where a non-resident buyer can genuinely change things is in the mechanics and structure of the deal rather than your fundamental tax position: foreign buyers sometimes prefer to buy through a Canadian holding company for their own tax reasons, deals can take longer or involve more conditions if regulatory review is triggered by the buyer's non-resident status, and currency, payment timing, or cross-border banking arrangements can add practical complexity that affects when and how you actually receive your proceeds.

Because a foreign buyer's own structuring preferences can still affect the deal's terms even without changing your personal tax result, it's worth having your tax and legal advisors review the actual structure being proposed rather than assuming it has no effect at all.