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North AmericaNeeds someone on the ground Verified · 31 Jul 2026

How to found a company in Canada

You’d incorporate a Corporation (federal) (Inc.).

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The numbers

Government filing fee
CA$200Corporations Canada online federal incorporation, processed within one business day. Paper filing is CA$250. Express four-hour service adds CA$100.
Typical turnaround
1 day
Corporation tax
15%15% federal general rate, or 9% federal small business rate on the first CA$500,000 of active business income. Provincial corporate tax is additional.
GST/HST threshold
CA$30,000Small supplier threshold — registration is mandatory above CA$30,000 over four rolling quarters.
Minimum directors
1Federal incorporation requires at least 25% of directors to be resident Canadians; where there are fewer than four directors, at least one must be. British Columbia and Nova Scotia have no director residency requirement.
Minimum shareholders
1

What you’ll need

  • A NUANS name search report, or a numbered company
  • Articles of incorporation, federal or provincial
  • A registered office in the jurisdiction of incorporation
  • A CRA business number after incorporation

Watch out

  • ⚠️The federal director-residency test is why non-residents commonly incorporate in British Columbia or Nova Scotia instead.
  • ⚠️Federal incorporation still requires extra-provincial registration in each province where the company carries on business.
  • ⚠️Voluntary GST/HST registration below the threshold allows input tax credits to be claimed on startup costs.

The steps

  1. 1

    Choose federal or provincial incorporation

    You1 day

    British Columbia and Nova Scotia impose no director residency requirement; federal incorporation does. This decision drives everything downstream.

  2. 2

    Run a NUANS name search

    You1 day

    Or incorporate as a numbered company and register a trade name later.

  3. 3

    File articles of incorporation

    Founding1 day

    Filed online, usually processed same-day.

  4. 4

    Obtain a CRA business number

    You3 days

    Then GST/HST and payroll accounts as required.

What you’ll need around it

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Wise Business

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Accounting

Xero

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Accounting

QuickBooks

Checked 31 Jul 2026 against an official source. Rules and fees change — confirm anything you are about to act on. Founding is not a law firm and this is not legal or tax advice.