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ShelfCompanies24 has been forming Canadian companies for international clients since 1995. Our Canadian partners (with Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal coverage) handle every step of company formation in Canada on a single agreed service contract, from picking the right legal form (federal vs. provincial) through Corporations Canada or provincial registry registration, CRA business-number registration, beneficial-ownership filing and your first Canadian bank account. Most clients are trading inside 1 to 3 weeks, or in 3 to 7 working days via a ready-made off-the-shelf Canadian corporation.
Our service covers Corporations Canada or provincial filings, registered office, CRA registration.
Canadian corporation + registered office + Canadian banking + accountant referral under one roof.
Standard formation 1 to 3 weeks. English/French-speaking case manager.
Electronic signatures only.
We file Articles of Incorporation, Notice of Directors, Initial Notice, organise CRA business-number, file BO.
Company registration in Canada asks for less than most people expect. You need at least one shareholder of any nationality, a board that meets the residency rule of the jurisdiction you choose, a registered office address in that jurisdiction, articles of incorporation and a NUANS name-search report confirming the name is free. There is no statutory minimum capital in any of the main jurisdictions, federal or provincial.
Registration then triggers a short chain of tax registrations. The CRA business number is issued automatically, and the corporate tax, GST or HST, payroll and import accounts are opened against it as the activity requires. Registration for GST or HST becomes mandatory once turnover passes the CAD 30,000 threshold. Federal corporations have maintained a register of individuals with significant control since 2022, and the provinces have brought in equivalent rules.
Incorporated under the Canada Business Corporations Act. Operates nationally with extra-provincial registration in operating provinces.
| Form | Min. capital | Formation time | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal CBCA | None | 1 to 3 weeks | National / multi-province operations |
| Ontario OBCA | None | 1 to 2 weeks | Default for Ontario operations |
| BC BCA | None | 1 to 2 weeks | Pacific / BC operations |
| ULC (BC/AB/NS) | None | 2 to 3 weeks | US-Canada cross-border tax planning |
| Off-the-shelf Canadian corp | Varies | 3 to 7 days | Need immediate trading |
The Canadian company formation process runs to nine steps. An overseas founder takes part in two of them, choosing the structure and signing, while our Canadian partner handles the registry, the CRA accounts and the beneficial-ownership filing.
Confirm federal vs. provincial, business activity, banking preferences, CCPC eligibility assessment.
NUANS name-search report obtained to confirm name availability. Processing 1 to 3 days.
Drafted by our Canadian partner. Standard articles for most uses.
Filed electronically. Federal: typically 1 business day. Ontario / BC: 1 to 3 business days.
Issued automatically on registration. The BN is the universal Canadian business identifier.
Corporate tax (RC), GST/HST (RT), Payroll (RP), Import/Export (RM), registered as needed.
HST in HST provinces (ON, NB, NL, NS, PEI); QST in Quebec; PST in BC, SK, MB.
Federal CBCA: ISC (Individual with Significant Control) register since 2022. Provincial: similar requirements (Ontario, BC etc.).
Canadian banking partners: RBC, TD, BMO, Scotiabank, CIBC, plus international branches.
Setting up a company in Canada from abroad is largely a question of picking the right jurisdiction. Shareholders are never subject to a residency test. Directors are, at federal level: section 105(3) of the Canada Business Corporations Act requires at least 25% resident Canadians, and at least one where the board has fewer than four members. Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces impose nothing of the kind, which is why those provinces carry most of our international work. Manitoba follows the federal rule, and a federal corporation remains workable where you can supply one resident Canadian director.
One consequence of foreign ownership is worth knowing before you file. A corporation controlled by non-residents is not a Canadian-Controlled Private Corporation, so the 9% federal small-business deduction on the first CAD 500,000 of active business income does not apply and the combined rate lands in the ordinary band instead. The filings themselves are electronic, signatures are electronic, and no visit to Canada is required.
A formation agent exists to absorb the parts of the process that are awkward from another time zone. Ours orders the NUANS report and reads it properly, drafts the articles of incorporation and the notice of directors, provides the registered office in the province you incorporate in, files electronically with Corporations Canada or the provincial registry, and opens the CRA accounts the business actually needs rather than every account on the list.
After registration the agent is the address the registry writes to. That matters, because a missed annual return or an unfiled director change is the usual reason a Canadian corporation slides out of good standing, and a bank notices that immediately. Our Canadian partners cover Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, so the filings, the accountant introduction and the bank introduction come from one engagement rather than three.
Yes, for federal corporations. Since 22 January 2024 a corporation governed by the Canada Business Corporations Act must file its register of individuals with significant control with Corporations Canada, and the name, address for service, dates and description of control are publicly searchable. Dates of birth and citizenship stay private. The threshold is 25% of voting shares or of value, or control in fact. Provincial regimes differ: Quebec publishes ultimate beneficiaries, while Ontario and British Columbia keep the register at the company.
Decide federal or provincial first, because that sets the registry and the director rules. Then a NUANS name search clears the name, typically in 1 to 3 days, the articles of incorporation are drafted and filed electronically, and the registry issues the certificate. Federal filings are usually processed in one business day and Ontario or British Columbia in 1 to 3 business days. The CRA business number and the tax accounts follow, then the bank.
Entirely by electronic signature, provided the jurisdiction fits your board. Shareholders may be of any nationality and live anywhere, and Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces require no Canadian-resident director at all, while a federal corporation needs at least a quarter of its board resident in Canada. You supply certified identity documents and proof of address, we supply the registered office and the filings, and the CRA business number is issued on registration. No visit to Canada is needed at any stage.
Federal corporations are searchable by name or corporation number in the Corporations Canada online database, which shows the registration date, the status and the filing history. Provincially incorporated companies appear in their own provincial registry search. The CRA business number is a separate identifier issued by the Canada Revenue Agency at registration and is used on tax filings and invoices rather than as a public register entry.
The mechanics are identical to any other incorporation, but two points bite. The first is that a corporation controlled by non-residents is not a CCPC, so the 9% federal small-business deduction on the first CAD 500,000 of active business income is not available and the ordinary combined rate applies. The second is banking, which takes longer for a non-resident owner and is worth starting the day the corporation is registered.
A new federal or major provincial corporation runs 1 to 3 weeks end to end. The registry steps themselves are quick, with a NUANS name search in 1 to 3 days, federal filings usually processed in one business day and Ontario or British Columbia in 1 to 3 business days. What fills the rest of the window is the CRA accounts, the sales tax registration and the document exchange. An off-the-shelf corporation transfers in 3 to 7 working days.
Multi-province operations: federal CBCA, remembering that it requires at least a quarter of the directors to be resident Canadians. Single-province: that province’s form, with Ontario the most common for international clients given its lack of any director-residency requirement and its major-market location.
It depends entirely on where you incorporate. A federal corporation does require one: section 105(3) of the Canada Business Corporations Act asks for at least 25% resident Canadian directors, and at least one where there are fewer than four. Manitoba applies the same test. Ontario abolished its requirement in 2021, and British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces have none. Shareholders are never subject to a residency test, whichever jurisdiction you choose.
Canadian-Controlled Private Corporation, a private corporation controlled by Canadian residents. CCPCs qualify for the Small Business Deduction (9% federal CIT on first CAD 500k active business income). Foreign-controlled Canadian corporations are NOT CCPCs and pay standard rates.
Foreign-controlled: ~25 to 31% combined federal + provincial. Canadian-controlled CCPC on small-business income: ~9 to 13% combined.
The CRA business number arrives with registration, and the tax accounts are opened against it: corporate income tax, GST or HST once turnover passes the CAD 30,000 threshold, payroll if you hire and import or export accounts if you move goods. Provincial sales tax registration follows where it applies. The register of individuals with significant control is filed, then the bank account and the accounting arrangements.
Ready to register your Canadian corporation? Contact our Canadian desk.
Canada is one of several jurisdictions where ShelfCompanies24 maintains pre-formed entities and active formation services. Why pick Canada for your Inc. specifically? Federal/provincial choice, NAFTA/CUSMA is the headline reason, but it pays to understand the trade-offs against the alternatives. Below are concrete differentiators that matter when you are weighing a structure decision against the actual operating profile of your business.
Cross-border corporate structuring in 2026 is governed by a tighter web of rules than in any previous decade. Three forces shape every decision:
For Canada specifically: 23-30% combined federal + provincial; CCPC small-business deduction = 9% on first CAD 500k; ULC for US cross-border.
Issues we routinely see when prospects come to us after attempting the process directly with local providers in Canada:
Yes. A name change is filed with the CRA / provincial via a directors’ resolution and a routine filing, typically clears in 48 hours. We include up to one name change as standard for both shelf-company purchase and new formation.
Canada is not an EU or EEA state, so the Parent-Subsidiary and Interest and Royalties Directives do not apply. What your corporation can use is Canada’s own treaty network: 92 comprehensive income tax conventions are in force, including with every major EU economy, alongside a separate set of tax information exchange agreements. All of the main treaties now carry the principal purpose test introduced by the OECD Multilateral Instrument, so substance and commercial rationale decide entitlement.
Client information is held under contractual non-disclosure plus the professional-secrecy obligations applicable to corporate-service providers in our home jurisdiction. We do not share client identity or transaction details with third parties beyond what is statutorily required (KYC reporting, beneficial-owner-register filings, AML/CTF reporting where triggered). Our internal access to client files is logged and access-restricted by need-to-know.
A Inc. is a separate legal entity Canadian-tax-resident with its own corporate tax filings and beneficial-owner record. A branch is an extension of a foreign parent, the foreign parent is the legal entity, the Canada branch books local-source income but the parent’s overall tax liability cascades. Most foreign owners pick an Inc. for liability ring-fencing and clean tax accounting; branches are sometimes preferred where the parent has specific group-relief or treaty considerations that depend on common legal personality.
Engaging us for your Canadian new Inc. formation covers the following deliverables under one service:
The deliverable scope is identical regardless of whether you are based in the EU, the US, the UK, the Middle East, or APAC, we operate the same service globally for Canadian corporate setup. Optional add-ons (virtual office, accounting retainer, payroll, sector licences, transfer-pricing documentation) are scoped separately, so the incorporation or transfer work stays exactly as agreed.