Is there a federal "documentation-registration" vs provincial
registration like the US doc and state reg?

Is it possible to change flags without physically taking the boat into
Canada?

We have Canadian passports - US legal residents and living in Oregon.

Cruising friends we knew 8-9 years ago bought a boat in Boston and
cruised the boat thru the Pacific for 4 years before taking it back to
Vancouver. I seem to recollect that they changed the flag over to
Canadian in Boston and never had to do anything but paperwork. Then
when they returned to Canada they had to cough up some $ for duty.

Anybody know how this works - say 45 ft and $US150K purchase price.