You should be able to get all the stuff you need domestically, the requirements are not particularly stringent or involved. Lee Valley would still probably be my choice, they have many distributors in Canada, and a very good offering of belts. I started out with a couple each of 120, 220, 320, and 400-grit aluminium-oxide belts, followed with a 15-micron and a 9 micron microfinishing belt. All of those are readily available from Lee, or any one of several other online sources. I used EconAbrasives myself, but I don't know about their shipping charges to Canada, they're US-based.
As a finishing step, two leather belts are worth your while, one loaded with green compound, one with white. Bark River compounds are reputed to be good for it, I used Econ's house brand. They come in one-pound sticks that are enough for ten lifetimes, the usage rate is very slow. I run my belts rough-side-out, but they work either way.
I use a different kind of belt now, a "Trizact" belt from 3M, custom-made by Doug, but for starting out and your first couple hundred knives, the AO belts work great, and are a very inexpensive way to get into practice. I still use them for rough shaping, or when a knife is in really bad shape. I generally start with a sharp 220 grit, or a worn 180 for my first pass (you'll get a feel for which belt to start with fairly quick, the worse-off the knife is, the coarser a belt you want to use). That raises a burr in just a couple passes, then I start stepping my grit down as required. For a fast sharpening, a 180-grit, followed by a 320 and stropping on leather with green compound puts a very good working edge on that will most likely exceed a factory edge. Using the micron belts after the 400, then the leather will produce an edge that not many people have ever had a chance to use, and will blow a factory one right out of the water.
Watch your temperature, especially near the tip. If you start to feel any heat in the blade at all, just give it a quick dip into a water jug. I personally use a large disposable water bottle that I hacked the top off of. Works great, holds plenty of water, and was free. As a rule of thumb, a coarse belt removes material with a lot less heat build-up than a fine one, so use as coarse a belt as you can to get the result you desire. That way, you have to dip less often and save time. It's really not that big of a deal, as long as you're mindful of the heat build-up, you won't trash a knife. I generally dip the blade after every couple passes, just as cheap insurance. The rag you wipe it off on also serves well to identify burrs, by leaving fuzz on them with each dip-and-wipe.
Hey folks. Trying to narrow down my options here in Newfoundland Canada. Looking into a belt sander that will accept all the neccessary sharpening belts including leather. I have been looking at these as I can get them locally. But any recommendations will help. I want to get this sharpening gig going on the side asap befpre the local big game season.