Register a Company in Canada

Registering a company in Canada means incorporating a corporation under either the Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA) for federal incorporation or the relevant provincial act for provincial incorporation. The most common structure is a corporation (often designated "Inc.," "Corp.," or "Ltd." depending on jurisdiction). Federal incorporation through Corporations Canada provides the right to carry on business across all provinces and territories under the company name. Provincial incorporation registers the company under a specific province's legislation and may require extra-provincial registration to operate in other provinces. The registration process requires choosing a corporate name (or a numbered company), filing articles of incorporation, appointing at least one director, establishing a registered office address, and defining the share structure. Federal incorporation can be completed online through Corporations Canada's filing system.

For federal incorporation under the CBCA, you will need: • A corporate name that complies with naming regulations (a NUANS name search report is required, valid for 90 days) or a request for a numbered company • At least one director who is a Canadian resident (at least 25% of directors must be Canadian residents, or at least one if there are fewer than four directors) • A registered office address in Canada • Details of incorporators • Articles of incorporation specifying the share structure, any share transfer restrictions, number of directors, and any business restrictions • A Business Number (BN) from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for tax purposes — this can be applied for after incorporation For provincial incorporation, requirements vary by province. Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, and Quebec each have their own corporate legislation and registration processes. EntityFlo tracks the specific requirements for each province.

Incorporation fees in Canada vary by jurisdiction: • Federal (Corporations Canada): CAD $200 online, CAD $250 by mail • Ontario: CAD $300 online • British Columbia: CAD $350 online • Alberta: CAD $275 online • Quebec: CAD $367 online • Saskatchewan: CAD $265 online These are government fees paid directly to the relevant authority. EntityFlo does not add any mark-up on government filing fees. Your first entity on EntityFlo is free — no credit card, no lock-in. Paid plans scale with your portfolio: Foundation at $199/mo AUD (up to 25 entities), Control at $389/mo (26–50 entities), Corporate at $599/mo (51–100 entities), and Enterprise for groups managing 100+ entities with custom pricing. Canadian-specific compliance tracking — annual returns, director residency monitoring, and beneficial ownership obligations — is included at no additional cost.

Canadian corporations face both federal and provincial ongoing compliance requirements: • Annual return: Federally incorporated companies must file an annual return with Corporations Canada. The filing fee is CAD $12 online. The deadline is within 60 days of the corporation's anniversary date. • Director changes: Changes to directors must be filed with Corporations Canada (federal) or the relevant provincial authority. The Canadian residency requirement for directors must be maintained at all times. • Beneficial ownership: Under amendments to the CBCA, federally incorporated corporations must maintain a register of individuals with significant control (ISC) — persons who own or control 25% or more of shares or voting rights. This register must be kept at the registered office and updated within 15 days of any change. • Provincial filings: If the corporation is extra-provincially registered, annual filings may be required in each province of registration. • CRA filings: Corporate tax returns, GST/HST returns, and payroll filings must be submitted to the Canada Revenue Agency. EntityFlo tracks all of these obligations, applying jurisdiction-specific rules for federal versus provincial requirements. The compliance engine distinguishes between Corporations Canada deadlines and provincial filing deadlines.

Canadian subsidiaries within Australian-headquartered groups are common, particularly in mining, resources, technology, and financial services. Managing governance across both jurisdictions means navigating different regulators, different residency requirements for directors, and different beneficial ownership regimes. EntityFlo provides a unified view. Canadian entities appear alongside Australian, UK, US, NZ, and Irish entities in the same register. Ownership chains that flow through Canadian holding companies are mapped in the structure chart, with look-through to ultimate beneficial owners. The platform tracks the Canadian residency requirement for directors automatically — if a director change would breach the 25% Canadian residency threshold, EntityFlo flags it as a compliance issue before the change is processed. For groups subject to beneficial ownership reporting in multiple jurisdictions, EntityFlo consolidates the picture. Australian UBO obligations, Canadian ISC registers, UK PSC registers, and Irish RBO filings all draw from the same underlying ownership data, ensuring consistency across jurisdictions. This cross-jurisdictional governance capability is what distinguishes EntityFlo from single-country solutions that cannot provide a unified view of a global corporate group.