Buying a motorcycle or car in Canada as a foreigner
 

British Columbia:


Had a discussion with the rep from ICBC - the "Insurance Corporation of BC" that does ALL vehicle insurance in the province for required Third party Liability.

1. You CAN arrive, and buy and insure a bike.
2. When you buy it, if private, get the registration TRANSFER document from them, and a receipt.
3. Go to an "Autoplan" office, of which there are many, to transfer the vehicle and get insurance. You CANNOT ride without insurance for even one foot. YOU WILL NEED TWO PIECES OF ID. Your home drivers licence and passport is fine.
4. You need to pay sales tax, transfer fee, and buy insurance.
5. If you buy from a dealer, they can generally get an Autoplan agent to come to the dealer and do everything there!
6. You DO NOT need a local address.
7. They WILL ask you for one. Just tell them you're not staying anywhere specific, unless of course you have a friend's address. Since the exact premium is based on location, some have higher accident rates etc., they will charge you the MAXIMUM rate in BC without a fixed address.
8. If they say "call ICBC" because essentially they're clueless and don't know what to do and don't want to deal with you, tell them to call their "Support Desk" and they will tell them it's ok. You should be able to get it all done on the spot.
9. You can insure for whatever period you want, from one month to one year. You can cancel anytime, but there is a fee to cancel early.
10. Your insurance is good anywhere in Canada and the USA.
11. If you want additional insurance such as fire theft and collision, you can buy it at the same time for the same period. You CAN also buy it separately for less from an insurance agent that specializes in that, BUT that's always for one year and no cancellation allowed, so generally not worth it for travellers.
12. If you want to ride south, past the USA, your BC insurance is no longer valid.
    
13. In order to cancel your insurance, you must MAIL BACK THE PLATE. Therefore, plan when your insurance naturally expires carefully.
14. Your REGISTRATION is still valid and legal anywhere, you just need local insurance which is the norm for everyone everywhere.
15. IMPORTANT: In Canada for sure, and I believe in most of the USA as well, you MUST ALWAYS carry your drivers licence, registration and insurance documents at all times. Here in BC, there is a significant fine, and your bike will be towed on the spot without them.

If people were to add similar information to the above for the other provinces and territories in Canada where they live, that would be much appreciated!

This also applies for Canadians non-resident in Canada.

We bought a vehicle in BC this Spring and it was easy, following the steps noted. One learning, noted in Grant's post, is to be aware of the expiry/renewal conditions. We are planning to pick up the vehicle next Spring and go on "stage 2"of our Canadian travels. Renewal of the insurance looks as if it's going to be a challenge. We cannot renew online since our vehicle is co-owned (by the two of us). It seems that we cannot renew by phone either (looking into this). Renewing in person would involve flying from Colombia to BC for the day...!

As an aside, we recently looked into lending our vehicle (parked in BC until next Spring) to my daughter in Ontario for the 6 months we are at home - it's a nightmare and we finally reached the conclusion that it's not feasible (technically possible but a bureaucratic mess and a huge cost).

The insurance DOES NOT have to be renewed if it's not being driven.

If I understand correctly, it's currently parked, and the insurance will expire before you return.
No problem - when you return, go to the closest Autoplan agent with your registration papers, pay and you're done. Easy.
IF you renew before the insurance expires you should be able to do it online. This is a NEW option in 2022, as BC has finally done away with expiry stickers on the plate, as all police can now automatically scan plates for insurance and registration validity.


As I understand it all, for your daughter to drive it, she'd have to register it in Ontario after I believe 30 days but it might be 90. And of course pay taxes, transfer fees etc. And then you'd have to do the reverse. And someone has to drive - or rail freight it - back and forth. Definitely not worth it.

Your understanding is correct.

We'd prefer to keep the insurance up, it's only a "gap" of 6 weeks or so, and this would also allow my other daughter to use the vehicle if she needed to (no plan but an option - as long as it's "occasional use" this is permitted).

Update - I spoke to the Insurance Agent - I can renew on the phone and with email. The online option is not permitted in our case - the vehicle is co-owned (I know - bizzare). ICBC tell me that the new online option, as you say introduced this year, will progressively be extended to co-owned vehicles and business-owned vehicles. I'm not holding my breath.

You are absolutely right about the process for my daughter to use the car - all sorts of limitations, restrictions, and taxes. We gave up on the idea.

Is it the same process all over Canada in other provinces.

No, if anything BC is an outlier - the insurance here is government run, not private insurance companies. Most of Canada to my knowledge have rules that are similar TO EACH OTHER, but BC is DIFFERENT!

Thanks for posting Grant, out of interest is the BC insurance the same rate for all insurers or is it more expensive for foreign owners and has anyone done a comparison with the cost of buying/insuring in the US?

There is only ONE insurer in BC - ICBC, or "Insurance Corporation of BC". So yes, all same - does depend on where you live for rates - Big city vs small town for instance.
Sorry there's never been a comparison. But, BC has never been considered cheap. At a guess, probably cheaper in the US for both.

Current situation BC insurance?
 

Hi Grant. Really useful post. Do you know if things are still the same regarding BC insurance 3 years on.

No changes that matter to travellers, no. It's been effectively the same since 1973.

Changes in 2021, which do not affect travellers so far as I can tell, but including here for completeness:

1. B.C. is moving to a full “no-fault” insurance model, which means in most cases you won’t be engaged in a lawsuit after a crash to win damages. Instead, the Insurance Corp. of B.C. will pay money to you directly.
2. Premiums will drop an average of 20 per cent, or $400 annually, starting in 2021, according to ICBC. And ICBC has applied for no change in rates this year, leading up to the drop.
3. The change starts May 1, 2021. In the meantime, the $5,500 cap on pain and suffering claims for minor injuries remains in place, and payments for major accidents will still be hashed out in court.
4. The changes will save approximately $1.5 billion annually, much of which ICBC says will be used to boost the type and length of benefits you receive, such as visits to chiropractors, massage therapy and counselling. New benefits will include compensation for travel, personal care assistants and school fees, among others. For example, payments for lost wages due to a crash will increase to $1,200 a week, from $740. Your doctor, not ICBC, decides what benefits you will receive and for how long.
5. Fault will still be determined in a crash, but only for the purpose of punishing bad drivers through increases to their premiums. No matter who is at fault, everyone will receive the same medical benefits.

Thanks for the update.

Any idea what the current premium is for a 250cc bike? And do you have to but a years worth of insurance or is a shorter period (say 3 months) possible.

Thanks

(And I should have said before, Happy New Year to you and Susan, I hope all goes well)

I paid $99 for 3months of pretty much the most basic insurance they had on a 400cc bike. The first time you insure there may be some additional fees to issue a plate and things like that. I am not sure how they calculate premiums for foreigners, but in my case I have something like 20 years safe driving without a claim. If you need more details you can call ICBC or a broker and they should be able to give you a quote and explain the fees. If you are outside of canada their are various apps such as Fongo, that will give you a canadian number and allow for free calls to most numbers.

It's worth noting that basic insurance in BC is based on cc, nothing else, such as whether it's a high-performance sports bike or a slow dual sport, it's only cc.

Anything up to 400 is one class, then up to 750cc, and over IIRC.
So my 50hp R80G/S pays the same insurance as a Ducati Panigale 200mph hypersports for basic insurance. From there it's your driving record and age.
You can get fire and theft and all the rest from ICBC, but it's perhaps cheaper to go to a third-party agency for all of that IF you want insurance for a year, as they are all one year or nothing. Only ICBC will do shorter terms.
So for short term, it's all ICBC.
Hope that helps.

In Manitoba the process is very similar to BC and is also government insurance. Here it's called Manitoba Public Insurance MPI and can be issued by any Autopac agent. You can calculate your insurance cost quickly here:

https://apps.mpi.mb.ca/irc/intro_2.asp

Be prepared for a shock as Manitoba motorcycle insurance is incredibly expensive. Insurance cost is primarily based on the style of motorcycle. Cruisers being the cheapest and sport bikes being the most expensive. Dual purpose and touring fall somewhere in the middle. Then to a lesser extent if it's under 500cc, between 500 - 1000cc and then above 1000cc. The year, value and horsepower surprisingly are all irrelevant to the insurance cost.

An older 125cc sport bikes will likely have higher insurance than a brand new Harley. It may well exceed the motorcycle value for a single year of insurance. I've seen sport bike insurance in excess of $3500 per year.