How to Start a Vape Shop With Low Investment in Ontario

Let’s be honest about something first: the hardest part of opening a vape shop in Ontario usually isn’t finding customers. It’s making it through all the paperwork without giving up.

Between the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, specialty vape store registration, city licences, and federal stamping rules, a lot of first-time owners get stuck somewhere in the middle. Three months in, money already spent, and the doors still aren’t open. That doesn’t mean you should give up on the idea. It just means you need a clearer plan before you start.

This guide walks you through exactly what it takes to open a vape shop in Canada, with a close look at Ontario’s rules, what it really costs to get started, and a lower-cost path worth knowing about if building everything from zero isn’t for you.

What Does It Actually Mean to “Start a Vape Shop” in Ontario?

Ontario has an official name for a vape shop: a “specialty vape store.” Basically, it’s a store where most of what you sell is vape products, not general convenience items. Sounds simple, but this one detail decides a lot about how your business gets to operate.

Under Ontario Regulation 268/18, a store only counts as a specialty vape store if at least 85% of its sales over the past year came from vapour products. If your store hasn’t been open a year yet, it’s the same rule but applied to your inventory purchases instead. Miss that 85% mark, and you get treated like any other general retailer, with much tighter rules on what you can display or advertise.

That’s the reason a gas station can sell vapes quietly from behind the counter, while a dedicated vape shop can actually show off its products.

Why Does This 85% Rule Even Exist?

The Smoke-Free Ontario Act treats vape products a lot like tobacco when it comes to advertising and displays. According to a City of Toronto policy review, the province put these rules in place to keep vape products away from young people, while still giving dedicated vape shops room to actually run their business. Basically: stricter eligibility, but more freedom once you qualify.

Why Getting a Vape Shop License in Ontario Matters

Skipping registration, or getting it wrong, isn’t just a “you might get fined” problem. It can quietly kill your whole business model. Here’s what a properly registered specialty vape store gets to do that unregistered stores can’t:

• Show off products with in-store displays and signage
• Let customers sample products, within the limits set by the rules
• Build trust with suppliers and landlords who know you’re playing by the book

Without registration, you’re stuck selling from behind a counter with nothing on display, no samples, and honestly, not much different from a gas station rack.

How to Open a Vape Shop in Canada: Step-by-Step Process

Opening a vape shop in Canada means dealing with three levels of government, and each one moves at its own pace. Here’s the order that actually makes sense.

Step 1: Get Your Business and Tax Setup Sorted

Start with the basics: register your business name, pick a structure (sole proprietorship, partnership, or corporation), and get a CRA business number. You’ll also need to register for HST. If you’re importing or handling unstamped products yourself, you may need a federal vaping product licence too. If you’re just buying already-stamped inventory from a licensed supplier, you likely won’t need that extra licence, but it’s worth double-checking with the CRA’s own guidance before you assume anything.

Step 2: Apply for Specialty Vape Store Registration

This part goes through your local public health unit’s Board of Health, not the province directly. You’ll need to fill out Ontario’s Application for Registration as a Specialty Vape Store, and it has to be signed by someone actually authorized to act for the business, whether that’s you as the owner, a partner, or a company officer. You’ll also need a signed statement from an accountant confirming your vape product sales or inventory percentage. Give yourself a few weeks here once your paperwork is ready to go.

Step 3: Get Your Municipal Business Licence

Every city in Ontario runs its own licensing process on top of what the province requires, and the fees are all over the place. Toronto, for example, wants a Vapour Product Retailer Licence, which costs $645.53 to apply for and $315.17 to renew. Other cities aren’t the same: Vaughan charges $504 to open and $293 to renew, and Windsor sits closer to $232, according to Public Health Ontario’s latest licensing summary. Leave room in your timeline for zoning checks, fire inspections, and health inspections too, since every city handles these a little differently.

Step 4: Line Up Suppliers Who Actually Follow the Rules

Every product you sell needs the right excise stamp for Ontario. Since Ontario signed on to a coordinated vaping tax agreement with the federal government, product sold here needs a specific colour-coded stamp showing both federal and provincial tax has been paid, not the generic stamp used elsewhere in the country. If your supplier can’t prove this, your whole inventory could get seized under the Excise Act, 2001. Not a risk worth taking.

Step 5: Build Out the Store and Get Ready to Open

Location matters more here than in most retail businesses. Ontario’s rules say a specialty vape store needs its own entrance, either from outside or from a specific part of an enclosed mall, not from a hallway everyone else walks through. And your displays can’t be visible from outside the store, ever. That rules out a lot of “perfect” storefronts before you’ve even looked at rent.

Vape Store Franchise Ontario vs. Building It Yourself

Once you understand the rules, most people land on one of two choices: build everything from scratch, or join a vape store franchise in Ontario that’s already worked all of this out. Here’s a simple side-by-side.

Neither one is automatically the right choice. Going independent means full control over your branding and what you sell. A franchise trades a bit of that control for a faster, less risky path to opening day, since someone’s already done the hard part.

Infinity Mart: A Low Investment Vape Store Franchise in Ontario

Infinity Mart runs premium convenience stores across Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Quebec, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, PEI, and Newfoundland. The franchise is built around keeping overhead low, using national vendor pricing, and pulling in revenue from a few different angles at once: retail, fuel, alcohol, and vaping. If you’re specifically looking at vape retail, here’s how the brand’s two options break down:

• Infinity Mart (full convenience store): A complete, ready-to-go convenience store setup, with an investment range of roughly $185,000 to $485,500 CAD. This covers site selection, training, buildout, and support through your grand opening.
• Infinity Vape: A standalone vape retail franchise, offering a curated line of vape products with a starting investment of just $39,000 plus inventory. It’s one of the more affordable ways into vape retail in Canada right now.

Both options follow the same basic process: apply, hop on a discovery call, go through due diligence, pick a site, sign the agreement, spend a week or two in training, build out the store, and open. Infinity Mart usually quotes three to nine months from application to opening day, though that shifts depending on your location and how fast permits come through.

One thing worth pointing out: franchisees get to lean on Infinity Mart’s existing vendor relationships and compliance groundwork, which matters a lot given how much of this whole process comes down to sourcing product properly and staying on the right side of excise stamping rules.

What You Need Before You Even Apply

Nothing kills momentum like getting bounced back by a reviewer at the Board of Health. Here’s what to have ready before you submit anything:

• Business registration completed and a CRA business number in hand
• Financial records showing your vape sales or inventory percentage, signed off by an accountant
• Government-issued photo ID for whoever’s applying
• A lease, or proof of a location, that meets the access and visibility rules
• A plan for checking ID and training staff (nobody under 19 is allowed inside a specialty vape store)
• Your city’s specific licence application, plus the fee ready to go

Vape Shop Startup Cost in Ontario: What to Really Expect

This is usually where the excitement meets reality. Building a vape shop from scratch in Ontario means covering a lot of ground before you’ve made your first sale:

• Legal and accounting help for all the registration paperwork
• Municipal licensing fees, which range from around $232 to over $1,100 depending on your city
• Buildout costs to meet the access and visibility rules
• Opening inventory from suppliers who can prove their product is properly stamped
• Point-of-sale systems, ID scanners, and staff training
• Rent for a spot that actually meets the location rules, which usually means paying more for a pricier commercial strip

None of that is unusual for retail on its own. What’s unusual is how much of it isn’t really up to you. That perfect storefront on a busy street? Might not even qualify if the entrance doesn’t check the right boxes.

A Real-Life-Style Example: Two Different Paths to Opening Day

Picture two people, both trying to open a vape shop in the Greater Toronto Area.

Owner A decides to build everything herself. She spends about six weeks on business registration, finding a lease, and putting together her specialty vape store paperwork, then waits several more weeks for the Board of Health and Toronto’s licensing process to clear. Between legal costs, buildout work to meet the access rules, and her opening inventory, she’s well into six figures before she’s sold a single product.

Owner B goes with a franchise instead. Because the supplier relationships, product selection, and most of the regulatory legwork are already sorted, his upfront cost lands closer to $39,000 plus inventory, and he’s open for business a lot sooner.

Both are perfectly reasonable ways to get into this business. It really comes down to how much money you have to start with, how much control you want over your brand, and how much time you’re willing to spend figuring out the registration process on your own.

A Few Situations You Might Recognize Yourself In

“I already run a convenience store and want to add vapes.” You’ll probably fall short of that 85% sales rule needed for specialty vape store registration, which means you can sell a product, but you can’t display or advertise it the way a dedicated shop can. Toronto actually has a separate “vapour product endorsement” for stores like this, a lighter add-on to your existing licence rather than a full specialty vape store registration.

“I found a great location, but I’m not sure it qualifies.” Check the access and visibility rules before you sign anything. A spot inside a mall’s common area, or one visible through a window from the street, might not meet the requirements no matter how much foot traffic walks by.

“I want to open in Ontario, but my budget is tight.” This is exactly where a lower-cost franchise model tends to make more sense than building from scratch, since it takes a lot of the compliance and sourcing risk off your hands.

FAQ: Starting a Vape Shop in Ontario

What is the vape shop startup cost in Ontario?

Building independently usually runs well into six figures once you add up leasehold improvements, licensing, legal fees, and opening inventory. Franchise options starting around $39,000 plus inventory exist if you’re looking for a cheaper way in.

Do I need a special licence to sell vape products in Ontario?

Yes. You’ll need specialty vape store registration through your local public health unit if vape products make up most of your sales, plus a municipal licence from your city, like Toronto’s Vapour Product Retailer Licence.

Can I sell vape products in a regular convenience store? 

Yes, but without specialty vape store registration, you can’t display or advertise them the way a dedicated shop can. Toronto offers a lighter “vapour product endorsement” for stores in this position, and general places-of-use rules still apply either way.

How long does it take to open a vape shop in Canada?

Between provincial registration, your city’s licensing, and buildout, plan on several months from application to opening day. It’ll take longer if your location needs work to meet the access and visibility rules.

Is a vape store franchise in Ontario a good low investment option? 

For a lot of first-time owners, yes. A franchise takes a lot of the compliance guesswork and sourcing risk off your plate, which is what makes lower-cost entry points, like ones starting around $39,000 plus inventory, realistic for people without six figures to spend upfront.

What’s the minimum age to even walk into a vape shop in Ontario? 

Nobody under 19 is allowed inside a registered specialty vape store, aside from the owner, staff, or someone accompanying a person with a disability.

Where to Go From Here

Opening a vape shop in Ontario is absolutely doable. It just rewards people who figure out the compliance side before they start scouting storefronts. Whether you build it yourself or go with a franchise system that’s already built around Ontario’s rules, the businesses that open smoothly are the ones who map out registration, licensing, and supplier compliance before they ever sign a lease.

If a lower-cost way into vape retail sounds appealing, Infinity Mart is worth a look, alongside doing your own homework on everything covered above.

Conclusion

Starting a vape shop in Ontario comes down to two things: understanding the rules before you commit money, and picking the path that actually fits your budget and timeline. Building independently gives you full control, but it also means carrying every bit of the registration, licensing, and supplier vetting work yourself, often well into six figures before you’ve made a single sale. A franchise route trades some of that control for speed and a much lower barrier to entry, with options starting around $39,000 plus inventory.

There’s no wrong answer here, just the one that fits where you’re starting from. If you want to explore what a lower-investment, already-compliant path into vape retail looks like, visit Infinity Mart to learn more about franchise opportunities across Ontario and Canada.