Start a business in Canada — research index

How founders living in Canada register a business: what each immigration status permits, choosing a structure, incorporating, CRA accounts, 13 provinces.

Director residency in all 14 Canadian jurisdictions, corporate tax residency, CCPC status, withholding, registry filing and immigration for non-residents.

Newfoundland and Labrador: the repealed 25% director-residency rule, the $300 CADO filing, the registered office the Registry refuses, HST and WorkplaceNL.

PEI incorporation from the province's own sources: the $200 statutory fee, the PEI-lawyer certificate when no director lives on the Island, and 15% HST.

Nova Scotia incorporation by memorandum and articles, the $200 fee, no director-residency rule, the resident recognized agent, 14% HST and a tax holiday.

New Brunswick sets no resident-Canadian director rule. The $262 e-filed incorporation, two-day online filing, 15% HST, WorkSafeNB and the entrepreneur stream.

A source-checked guide to constituting or registering a Quebec enterprise: registry fees, French-name rules, director residency, ultimate beneficiaries, QST.

Incorporating in Ontario: $300 filing fee, no director-residency rule since 2021, the Nuans 90-day window, the annual return that left the T2, and WSIB.

Manitoba's $350 incorporation, the 25% resident-Canadian director rule never repealed, the 90-day name reservation, 7% RST and the two-year dissolution trap.

Saskatchewan incorporation through ISC: the $255 fee, no resident-Canadian director rule, the resident-attorney trigger, 6% PST and a 1% corporate rate.

Alberta incorporation through registry agents, the $291.75 fee, the repealed director-residency rule, the resident-Albertan agent and GST-only sales tax.

Incorporating in British Columbia: BC Registries fees, Name Request timing, the no-director-residency rule, registered and records offices, PST, EHT and BC PNP.

Yukon incorporation for $300, the Business Corporations Act section that omits director residency, wet-ink signatures and a 0% small-business tax rate.

Paper-only NWT incorporation at $300, no director-residency rule in the Business Corporations Act, GST-only sales tax, plus WSCC, payroll tax and licences.

Nunavut incorporation under NWT-derived law: the $300 fee, no director residency rule, a civic-address registered office, GST only and Inuktut signage.

A source-checked playbook for founders outside Canada: no director-residency rule, a mandatory Quebec head office, French-name duties, QST and tax residency.

Ontario allows a wholly non-resident board since 2021. The remote playbook: registry access, Nuans, registered office, the 60-day return, HST, non-CCPC tax.

No Alberta director-residency rule since 2020, but a mandatory resident-Albertan agent for service, in-person filing via registry agents, and no CCPC status.

The non-resident's playbook for British Columbia: no director-residency rule, two mandatory BC offices, the no-login filing path, PST, CCPC loss and BC PNP.

Federal incorporation is a second registration, not a substitute. Verified 2026 fees, director-residency rules and extra-provincial filing in 13 provinces.

Four sales-tax regimes across 13 jurisdictions: verified 2026 rates, registration thresholds, out-of-province rules and filing calendars for a new business.

None of the four requires a resident director. They differ on local footprint, who may file, transparency, fees and immigration. Verified 2026 comparison.