Japanese Food Suppliers in Canada: Sourcing Guide for Restaurants (2026)

Canada’s Japanese food supply chain runs through three cities. Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal each have branches of the same national importers, a seafood house with a direct line to Toyosu, and a handful of local specialists. Two things make Canada different from the US: food imports are licensed federally by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), while sake is bought and sold through each province’s liquor system. This guide covers the suppliers Japanese restaurants in Canada use, the federal and provincial rules behind each delivery, the products Japan ships to Canada most, the items that stay hard to source, and the retail shops worth knowing for small kitchens.

Washoku Agent works with Japanese restaurants across 26 countries on chef recruitment and operations. The information below is compiled from the suppliers’ own websites and official sources, checked on 2026-10-14; confirm current pricing, minimum orders and delivery areas directly with each supplier, and check regulations with the authority named.

Import rules you need to know

• You need a Safe Food for Canadians (SFC) licence to import food. The exceptions are food additives, alcoholic beverages and certain unprocessed grains, oils, pulses, sugars and beverages labelled “For Further Preparation Only”. A customs broker whose only activity is clearing the shipment does not need one; the business identified as the importer holds the licence. (CFIA, Food business activities that require a licence under the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations, November 2024)
• Before importing, the importer must have a preventive control plan and complaint and recall procedures, then apply for the licence through My CFIA; licences are valid for 2 years. The SFC licence number must be declared on every import declaration or the shipment is rejected, and traceability records must be kept in Canada for two years. (CFIA, Importing food to Canada: a step-by-step guide, September 2026)
• Importers of fish and seafood are responsible for meeting the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations and the Food and Drug Regulations. The label of imported prepackaged fish must name the foreign country of origin, and some species from some countries may need an Aquatic Animal Health Import Permit. (CFIA, Importing fish and seafood products, July 2026)
• Live or raw (frozen or unfrozen) molluscan shellfish, meaning clams, mussels, oysters and scallops, may enter Canada only from an authorized country of harvest and through an authorized shipper. Japan is not on the list, which covers Chile, France, Ireland, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Saint-Pierre-and-Miquelon, the United Kingdom and the United States. Scallop adductor muscle free of viscera or roe is exempt. (CFIA, Importing live and raw molluscan shellfish, June 2026)
• Japan is approved to export raw beef (chilled or frozen cuts) to Canada, from establishments on the CFIA list of foreign establishments, with an Official Meat Inspection Certificate. Finished raw ground beef is not allowed. (CFIA, Conditions for importing meat products from Japan, December 2019)
• Mandatory information on consumer prepackaged food must be shown in both French and English, with narrow exceptions for specialty, local and test-market foods. Quebec has additional requirements on the use of French for products sold there. (CFIA, Bilingual food labelling, September 2025)
• In Ontario, a liquor sales licensee such as a restaurant may only sell liquor bought on the licence through the LCBO, The Beer Store, or an AGCO-licensed manufacturer where the LCBO permits. Products not carried in the LCBO network reach licensees through agents, who order them under the LCBO Consignment Program and must hold an AGCO manufacturer’s representative licence. (AGCO, Notice to liquor sales licensees; LCBO, Consignment Program guidelines, September 2020)
• In British Columbia, every imported alcohol product must be represented by an import agent holding a Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch import agent licence, and the Liquor Distribution Branch remains the central wholesaler. Licensed establishments order through the LDB’s wholesale channel; under a three-year trial announced in May 2026 and running to June 2029, they may also buy from public and private liquor stores. (BC Liquor Distribution Branch, Import Agent Resource Guide; BC Government news release, May 2021; May 2026)
• In Quebec, the law allows only the SAQ to import alcoholic beverages. Restaurants holding a permit buy through SAQ Restauration and can place private orders through the SAQ; if a product is represented by a promotional agency, the SAQ refers the buyer to that agency. The SAQ’s general private import conditions include a minimum of CAD 150 per product at the supplier price, an 80 percent deposit and full cases only. (SAQ, Importation de boissons alcooliques; SAQ, Permit holders, checked October 2026)

Notable Japanese food suppliers and distributors in Canada

The suppliers below were selected because Japanese restaurants use them, and each one’s website was opened on the date shown. Sake agents are listed separately from food importers because alcohol moves through the provincial systems. For a neutral list of outlets that use Japanese ingredients, JETRO’s Japanese Food Supporter Store programme is searchable by country.

Japanese ingredients in highest demand in Canada

The trade figures show what Canada buys from Japan. Exports of farm, forestry, fishery and food products to Canada reached JPY 27.4 billion in 2025, up 21.6 percent, making Canada Japan’s 14th largest market. The largest items were alcoholic beverages (JPY 2.9 billion), scallops (JPY 2.8 billion), sauces and mixed seasonings (JPY 2.5 billion), green tea (JPY 2.5 billion) and sesame oil (JPY 1.5 billion), followed by beef and yellowtail (JPY 0.9 billion each) (MAFF, 2025 export results by country). The supplier lists point the same way: sake and shochu, Hokkaido scallops, uni and sushi-grade tuna, Japanese short-grain rice, and the seasoning base.

Hard-to-source items, and practical workarounds

Japanese supermarkets and specialty grocers

For small outlets, Japanese grocers double as a cash-and-carry for rice, seasonings and emergency fish. Apart from Miyamoto and Fukuya, which list wholesale separately above, none of the shops below advertises trade terms; prices are retail.

How to choose a Japanese food supplier in Canada

• Decide who imports. If a Canadian importer brings the product in, the SFC licence, preventive control plan and traceability records sit with them; if you import food yourself, you take on all three. (CFIA, Importing food to Canada: a step-by-step guide, September 2026)
• Ask for the country of harvest on every shellfish order. Live or raw bivalves must come from an authorized country; scallops from Japan can only arrive as adductor meat free of viscera or roe. (CFIA, Importing live and raw molluscan shellfish, June 2026)
• Run two seafood accounts: a national house for volume and Toyosu product, and a local specialist for the counter. Ask each for its cut-off times and delivery days in your city. (Supplier websites opened in this guide, October 2026)
• Plan the sake list through your province: in Ontario, agents bring unlisted products in through the LCBO Consignment Program; in BC, through a licensed import agent and the LDB; in Quebec, through the SAQ and the agencies it names. (LCBO, Consignment Program guidelines, November 2021)
• Use the JETRO Supporter Store list to see which outlets in Canada are certified as using Japanese ingredients. Canada had 6 on the September 2026 list, so it is a short list, not a full map. (JETRO, Japanese Food and Ingredient Supporter Stores, September 2026)

The bigger picture

Canada’s supply chain for Japanese food is smaller than the US one but complete: the same national importers serve all three main cities, a seafood house with a Toyosu line covers the counter, and a group of sake agents works within each provincial system. Japan’s food exports to Canada rose 21.6 percent in 2025. The constraint for a new restaurant is rarely availability. It is the chef who knows how to specify, inspect and use the product, and who knows which bottles the province can actually supply.

Frequently asked questions