When traveling to canada what all can you take with you?

I am traveling to Canada in September to see daughter and grandaugher and would like to take gifts for them since i wont be there for their birthdays and Christmas, would i be aloud to take toys and clothes to them from here or would it be best to buy them once i get there.

If you can help it, don't buy anything ing Canada. Their tax is rediculous. However, as a non-Canadian citizen, you are allowed to have the GST portion of the tax refunded to you at the border.

You are allowed to bring toys and clothing to Canada.

as a visitor, you can take an unlimited number of gifts without paying duty as long as each item has a value of less than $60.00 canadian (that works out to $52.63 each since the exchange rate is currently at 1.14cdn=$1.00 usd)

you should buy the gifts in the states since they are usually cheaper than in canada. especially clothing, bedding, cheese and butter (tilamook extra sharp white costs $8usd for 2lbs at us costco and $18-20cnd for a kilo in canada for the equivalent!(over twice as much)
also sales tax is more at 7%gst + 6%pst in BC

Yes, you can bring gifts into Canada. As the second poster states the limit before paying duty is $60.00 Canadian per gift. Anything over that value is subject to duties and taxes. Tobbacco, alchohol and advertizing matter cannot be claimed as gifts. This website will answer several questions you may have.http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/E/pub/cp/rc4161/rc4161-e.html#P190_11643

Please note that there are some restrictions on food, pets and plants brought into Canada as well. All food, tobbacco and alcohol should be transported in containers which can be sealed at the border. For information on what food stuffs can be brought into the country and the amounts of food allowed please refer to this website. http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/corpaffr/publications/canada/canadae.shtml

As for your enquiry about the feasibility of purchasing gifts in Canada, the taxes vary from province to province so that will affect the costs of goods depending on which province you shop in. If you are planning to purchase gifts with a value over $60 each you are going to have to pay duties and taxes at the border anyways. Canada offers some excellent lower priced stores to shop at as well as the higher end ones. You can also claim a rebate for taxes you paid in Canada on purchases, accomodations, etc. I would say the deciding factor would be whether you have the space to bring extras with you or would just find it more convienient to purchase the items in Canada.

There are also restrictions on what you can take back to the USA. I posted this site so that it might help you in any purchases you may make in Canada to take back with you as souveniers, etc.. http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/vacation/kbyg/prohibited_restricted.xml

I hope this information is of help to you and I hope you enjoy your visit to Canada.
Please excuse spelling errors...spell check not working.

You can take just about anything you want into Canada..there are limits on the amount of cigarettes and alcohol that you can import...and also please remember guns are illegal in Canada..you cannot bring them in...
If you shop in canada..you can have part of your taxes refunded to you when you leave the country....and also the US dollar is currently worth about 10% more than the Canadian..so that anything that would cost you $1 in the US will cost you about .90 in canada.

Sorry, you don't say where you are coming from, so it's hard to tell whether you would be better off to bring toys and clothes with you or buy them here.
If you're from the US, you'd probably be better to buy them here, as we have most of the major US chains here - ToysRus and that sort of thing. Also Walmart. If you are coming from somewhere else, where the clothing and/or toys would be unique, you'd be better off to bring them from home.
As to what you can and can't take into Canada -- there are no restrictions except for guns and other weapons, but I don't think that's what you would be bringing for your daughter and granddaughter ;-)
There are the usual border restrictions on liquor and cigarettes, and of course, no drugs. But you know all that anyway.
September is a lovely time to visit Canada. Hope you have a wonderful visit with your family.

a souviner

You've been given a lot of useful information about the tax regulations and such.

Now I'll give you information and advice from the perspective of shopper and grandma.

While we are very civilized in Canada and can purchase almost everything you get in the States, lots of items don't get introduced here until they have been available in the States for some time. Depending on where you live, you might also have a much better selection than we can get here.

Check with your daughter to see if she and your granddaughter want/need anything that you can only get where you live. Otherwise, save yourself some trouble and do your shopping during your visit. That way you can see what your daughter and granddaughter like, don't like, want, don't want... You can even go shopping with them and invite them to select their birthday and Christmas presents. This way the gifts will be even more meaningful because they will think of the time you spent together choosing them. And when you get home, you can have fond memories of your selecting them together. (Take photos.)

If you do take gifts with you, just don't bother to wrap them in case you need to show them to a customs inspector.