The Ease of Doing Business in Canada

Canada was ranked as the second-best place to start a business in the world in 2020 according to the World Bank’s Doing Business project. It takes only one procedure and an average of five days to register a firm. They are currently ranked 23 for ease of doing business and 4^th in the world in the ability to get credit.

In order to open a business in Canada, you need to be a Canadian citizen or a landed immigrant. You can’t start a business while you’re in Canada on a visitor or student visa or while you’re here on a work permit. You may also be able to partner with one or more Canadians to start a business here but that doesn’t mean that you will be able to reside in Canada. To do that, you need to immigrate to Canada.

The Canadian system of business incorporation is very different than that of the United States. Generally, Canada has no limited liability corporations (LLCs) or S-corporation structures. There are some LLC options available, but they are usually only available to groups of professionals such as doctors, lawyers, and accountants.

Also, incorporation can be established on a federal or provincial level. Because of potential liability incorporation is always a form of business ownership you should consider when you’re starting a business.

There is good news for a establishing a sole proprietorship in Canada and using only your legal name as the name of your business, you will not need to register your business with your province. Newfoundland and Labrador take this even further. In those locations, no sole proprietorships or partnerships need to register their business names. However, in the province or territory you’re in, you may still need to register your business with your municipality.

Most new Canadian small businesses are bankrolled by their owners. Canadians starting businesses tend to dig into their own pockets first when they’re looking for the money to get started. Most Canadian small businesses started with less than $5,000, according to an Intuit Canada study of entrepreneurship.

There are very few grants for Canadian small business start-ups. Those that do exist are usually specific to particular industries, locations, and sometimes groups of people. The Canadian government appears to be more interested in offering businesses a hand up rather than a handout. So, no-strings-attached out and out small business grants are relatively rare and are always attached to particular conditions. They may focus on encouraging entrepreneurship among a particular group of people, such as aboriginals, or in a particular place, such as Northern Ontario. 

The Canada Small Business Loans Financing Program has long been the flagship program for financing both start-ups and established Canadian businesses, but there are many other government-sponsored and non-profit agencies that provide small business loans, from Community Futures Development Corporations through women’s organizations. There is also an increasing number of private loan sources, such as investor groups.

Owners can get back the amount of goods and services tax (GST)and harmonized sales tax (HST) that they pay on the goods and services consumed in the course of doing business

 

Small businesses—even micro-businesses—can qualify for scientific research and experimental development (SR&ED) tax credits. Your business also does not have to be incorporated or affiliated with a particular university or program to participate in SR&ED and earn SR&ED tax credits.

There are also special income tax deductions for home-based businesses such as The Business-Use-Of-Home Deduction. And every small business owner can claim their legitimate business expenses and write these off against their business income.