For-profit

The official guide to company registry in Canada is here.

There are many different types of corporation in Canada. (Source) The Canadian-controlled private corporation (CPCC) form of small business ownership is most advantageous for tax purposes, but has to be controlled by a Canadian resident. Canadian company owners can file for incorporation online, or through email, fax, or mail. Online Filing is recommended but not available for all applications. (Source) The online incorporation portal is here. See here for a breakdown of incorporation costs.

Company owners have the option to incorporate federally or provincially in Canada. Incorporating federally will allow your company to do business in all provinces in Canada, but requires more paperwork.

Once the decision of where to incorporate has been decided, you must choose a corporate name, see step 1 here.

You can find guidelines about the corporate guide here. Afterwards, parepare the incorporation documents below:

• The Articles of Incorporation, which govern the conduct of the company members and directors. This must contain
  • your corporation’s province or territory in Canada
  • your share structure and any restrictions on share transfers
  • your corporation’s number of directors
  • any restrictions you might want to set for your business or business activities source
• The Memorandum – sets out the rules for the conduct of the company.
• The Notice of Offices – states the location of the two required offices for your corporation, the registered office, and the records office.
• Notice of Directors (if incorporating federally)
• Possibly other forms on the online portal (if incorporating provincially)

You may also need to apply for certain operating permits. You can get a personalized list of required permits on the BizPal website.

Non-profit

A guide for incorporating a Canada non-profit is here. To incorporate a Canada non-profit, you must fill out the Form 4001 and the Form 4002 (see Federal Incorporation Forms for the details). Examples of filled out versions of the forms are available here. If your organization wants to issue official donation receipts and be exempt from taxation, you also must register your non-profit as a registered charity. See this resource for information about how to register as a charity.

Sources:

• Canada Business Incorporation Online Portal
• Quick Guide to Incorporation in Canada
• Official Guide to Incorporation in Canada
• For Legal Details, Consult the Canada Business Corporations Act
• Information on how to register as a charity