Starting a Business · Canada
Starting a business in Canada: foreigner's guide (2026)
Canada shaded by its starting a business status
Canada places no restrictions on foreign ownership of company shares and offers fast, low-cost online incorporation, but the federal CBCA requires that at least 25% of directors be resident Canadians (or at least one if there are fewer than four). Foreigners can avoid the director-residency hurdle by incorporating in provinces such as Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec, which have no director-residency requirement. Setup is procedurally simple and quick, so the main friction is the resident-director rule at the federal level rather than ownership limits.
Key points
There is no general limit on foreign or non-resident ownership of a Canadian corporation's shares; a non-resident may own 100% of the company. Restrictions apply only in specific regulated sectors (e.g., telecom, broadcasting, transport).
Under CBCA s.105(3), at least 25% of directors must be resident Canadians; if a corporation has fewer than four directors, at least one must be a resident Canadian. A 'resident Canadian' is a citizen or permanent resident ordinarily resident in Canada.
Several provinces—including Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick—have no director-residency requirement, allowing a foreign founder to incorporate provincially with a fully non-resident board.
Federal incorporation is a five-step online process: choose a corporate name (word or numbered), establish corporate structure (registered office address and board of directors), and submit the application via the Online Filing Centre. Incorporation also provides a federal business number, corporate income-tax account, and optional GST/HST, payroll and provincial registrations.
Online federal incorporation costs CAD 200 and is typically processed within one business day; an express service is available for an additional CAD 100 with processing in about four hours.
The CBCA imposes no minimum share capital; a corporation may issue shares for any consideration set by the directors, so a business can be incorporated without a prescribed paid-up capital amount.
Timeline - major decisions & events
The federal Act (Royal Assent June 26, 2025, part of the One Canadian Economy package) takes effect, recognizing goods, services and worker credentials accepted in any province as valid federally, reducing friction for businesses operating or registering across Canada.
Canada Gazette ↗The Canada Revenue Agency stopped accepting business number and program-account (including GST/HST) registrations by phone, requiring new businesses to register through Business Registration Online, streamlining and digitizing startup tax registration.
Canada Revenue Agency ↗The federal government announced the elimination of a large share of its exceptions under the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (ultimately all 53), easing interprovincial market access for federally regulated goods, services and procurement.
Government of Canada ↗Federally incorporated companies began filing their individuals-with-significant-control data to Corporations Canada, launching a public, searchable beneficial-ownership registry—adding a transparency obligation to incorporating and maintaining a federal company.
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada ↗Federal legislation was introduced to amend the CBCA and establish a publicly accessible registry of company owners, setting the legal basis for the 2024 ISC filing regime and aligning Canada with anti-money-laundering transparency norms.
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada ↗Canada's largest province moved incorporation and 90+ business transactions to a 24/7 online registry, making it dramatically faster to register, incorporate, or update a business in Ontario.
Government of Ontario ↗Bill C-86 amendments took effect requiring most federal corporations to keep an internal register of beneficial owners (25%+ control), the first major corporate-transparency obligation imposed on Canadian companies.
Corporations Canada ↗The CFTA, signed by the federal government and all 13 provinces and territories, replaced the 1995 Agreement on Internal Trade to reduce barriers to the movement of goods, services, workers and investment—improving the environment for businesses scaling across provinces.
Government of Canada ↗Canada replaced the hidden Manufacturers' Sales Tax with a 5% (originally 7%) value-added GST, creating the federal sales-tax registration and remittance obligations that new businesses above the small-supplier threshold must meet today.
Canada Revenue Agency ↗The CBCA (Royal Assent March 24, 1975) replaced the discretionary letters-patent system with standardized articles of incorporation, establishing incorporation as a right and creating the modern federal framework under which businesses incorporate today.
Justice Laws Website (Government of Canada) ↗Canada - other topics
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