Buckland Customs Brokers Limited was founded in Chatham, Ontario in 1945 by Harvey Buckland shortly after he returned from serving in the armed forces during the Second World War. Utilizing the customs expertise gained from his pre-war career working in the Department of National Revenue, Harvey's goal was to provide professional customs brokerage and duty drawback services for importers and exporters based in Southwestern Ontario.

When control of the company subsequently passed to Harvey's son F.M. (Pat) Buckland, he relocated its operations to St. Thomas, Ontario, which offered more central location: half-way between the Canada-U.S. borders at Windsor/Detroit and Fort Erie/Buffalo and only one hour from the Sarnia/Port Huron border. The company quickly benefited from the move and prospered along with the region's growing number of industries and manufacturing plants.

By the 1950's, Pat Buckland had firmly established the company as one of the leading customs brokers in Western Ontario and had also expanded the range of support services offered to clients, such as bonded warehousing and domestic freight distribution. To provide more reliable customs clearance at border points and inland sufferance warehouses across Canada, the company along with several other independent brokerage firms, helped to establish Federated Customs Brokers.

Buckland has been an active participant in the continued growth and development of the Federated Group since its inception, which has enabled it to more efficiently provide clients with a complete range of trade services through this shared resource.

In 1994, leadership passed to the third generation of the Buckland family with purchase of the company by Shirley and Craig Smith.

Shirley has been extensively involved with the operations of the company at all levels since 1987 in addition to being active in the direction of professional industry and trade associations such as the Canadian Society of Customs Brokers. Originally coming from a management background in logistics/distribution enterprises and a successful career in pharmaceutical marketing, Craig has taken an active role in the executive management and business development aspects of the firm since 1994.

Under their combined direction, the company's staff has more than doubled in recent years as a result of increasing client demand and the expansion of services to companies across Canada and in the United States.

Strategic alliances with brokers throughout the NAFTA region, as well as expansion of our facilities in the United States ensure that North American importers and exporters are now able to fully benefit from a comprehensive range of logistics solutions together with the reliable quality and personalized service that Buckland has become known for.