How to start a business in Canada: the steps, the real costs, and what 1,800+ Canadian businesses earn

The short answer

The pages that rank for this search are procedure lists from government, banks and incorporation services. They agree on the steps and say little about which business to start or what it will earn. This guide covers the steps, checked against canada.ca, Corporations Canada and the Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta registries, then answers the cost questions with the Main Street Index, BigIdeasDB’s census of 84,900+ businesses-for-sale listings. 1,800+ of them are Canadian businesses priced in Canadian dollars. Every dollar figure from listings is an asking price or a stated earnings figure, not a sale price or an audited number.

Seven steps cover almost every new Canadian business; a sole proprietor using their own name with sales under $30,000 can legally skip most of them. Government fees below were read from the official pages on October 6, 2026.

Sole proprietorship, partnership or corporation

Canada has three common structures for a small business, and only one of them protects your personal assets. A sole proprietorship or partnership is not a separate legal person: as Alberta’s registry puts it, the sole proprietor or partners are personally responsible for the debts and obligations of the business. A corporation is a separate legal person that can own assets, sign contracts and be sued in its own name, according to Alberta’s incorporation guide. Canada has no LLC for ordinary businesses; the corporation (Ltd., Inc. or Corp.) is the nearest equivalent.

• Sole proprietorship: cheapest and simplest. Profit is taxed on your personal return. Use it for a low-risk service with no staff and no lease.
• Partnership: the same, for two or more owners. Write a partnership agreement before money comes in.
• Corporation: limited liability and the option to leave profit in the company. It adds an annual return, a corporate tax return and a share register. Worth it once you sign a lease, hire, or carry real liability.

Most owners start as sole proprietors and incorporate later. Corporations Canada lists lower tax rates and easier borrowing among the benefits of incorporating, but those only matter once profit is high enough to leave some of it in the company. Ask an accountant where that line sits for your income.

Federal or provincial incorporation: the answer depends on your province

Federal incorporation costs $200 online and is processed in one business day, with a $100 express option that returns it in four hours, per Corporations Canada’s fee table. The annual return is $12 online. You no longer need a Nuans name report to incorporate online with a word name, and a numbered name (for example 12345678 Canada Inc.) skips naming entirely. You also file information on individuals with significant control as part of the five-step process.

The catch most guides skip: a federal corporation must still register in each province or territory where it carries on business, which typically means having an address or phone number there or selling there. What that costs depends on the province, so the cheapest route flips:

• Ontario: federal is cheaper. $200 federally plus a free Initial Return, against $300 for an Ontario incorporation.
• British Columbia: provincial is cheaper. A BC company costs $380 with name approval; a federal company pays $200 and then $350 plus a $30 name approval to register extraprovincially.
• Alberta: both routes run through a registry agent, who adds a service fee to the government fee. Get a quote from two agents.

Federal makes sense if you will trade in several provinces, sell online across Canada, or want the name protected nationally. For a single-location business in one province, incorporate where you operate.

The three largest provinces in our data handle the same steps differently. Each fee below comes from that province’s own page, such as Ontario’s fee table; Ontario gets one row here because our Ontario guide covers its registry, renewals and Toronto licences in full.

British Columbia requires a $30 Name Request before both a sole proprietorship ($40) and an incorporation ($350); annual reports cost $43.39, per the BC Registries fee schedule. BC is also the one province of the three that charges a separate 7% PST, so a retail or restaurant start there registers for two sales taxes.

Alberta runs registrations through private registry agents, who charge the government fee plus their own service fee, listed in the Registry agent product catalogue. A word-named corporation needs an Alberta Nuans report, valid for 90 days, and a registered office and agent for service physically in Alberta, per alberta.ca. Trade names do not have to be unique in Alberta, so search before you print signage.

The listing columns show the market each founder is entering. Alberta businesses for sale state the lowest median owner earnings of the three, $178,736 against roughly $225,000 in Ontario and BC, at a $450,000 median ask, the same as Ontario. Ontario asks the lowest multiple, 3.07x stated SDE. These asks exclude templated franchise adverts, which are cheap and cluster in Ontario; with them left in, as on our Ontario and buying guides, Ontario’s median ask is $400,000 and Alberta’s $432,500, while the multiples barely move. These are medians across all industries, so a province’s figure moves with its mix; compare within an industry before drawing conclusions.

Get a CRA Business Number

A Business Number (BN) is the identifier the Canada Revenue Agency and most provinces use for your business. You need one when you incorporate or when you open a GST/HST, payroll or other CRA program account; an unincorporated business that needs none of those does not need a BN, according to the CRA’s BN page. You can only have one per business.

In most of Canada you get the BN without asking. Federal incorporation issues a BN and a corporate income tax account automatically, and registering or incorporating in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island or Saskatchewan does the same. Businesses in Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador and the three territories register with the CRA separately. Since July 14, 2026, Business Registration Online works only after you sign in to a CRA account, so set that up first.

“CRA is been extremely easy to deal with, from filing to payments.”r/SmallBusinessCanada, on dealing with the CRA

GST/HST and the $30,000 small-supplier rule

You do not have to register for GST/HST while you are a small supplier: $30,000 or less in taxable sales over four consecutive calendar quarters, per the CRA’s registration rules. The rule has two triggers, and the second one catches new businesses:

• Over $30,000 across four quarters: you stop being a small supplier at the end of the month after the quarter you crossed it, and charge tax from your effective date of registration.
• Over $30,000 in a single quarter: you stop being a small supplier immediately and must charge GST/HST on the sale that pushed you over. You then have 29 days to register.

A consulting start that bills $2,000, $10,000 and then $38,000 in its first three quarters hits the second trigger mid-quarter; that is the CRA’s own example. Register voluntarily if your customers are businesses: they claim the tax back, and you claim input tax credits on your start-up purchases. The rate you charge depends on where the customer is: 5% GST in Alberta, 13% HST in Ontario, 5% GST plus 7% BC PST, and 14% HST in Nova Scotia since April 1, 2025 (CRA rates table).

“GST is killing small businesses and is an administrative nightmare.”r/SmallBusinessCanada

The complaint is common, and the fix is bookkeeping, not avoidance. Track taxable sales by calendar quarter from day one, so the single-quarter trigger never arrives unnoticed.

Open a payroll account before your first remittance

You need a CRA payroll account once you pay wages, bonuses, vacation pay or taxable benefits. The deadline is your first remittance date: the 15th of the month after the month you first withheld income tax, CPP and EI from an employee’s pay, per the CRA’s payroll registration page. Hire someone on March 11, pay them on March 25, and the first remittance is due April 15.

Missing the account does not excuse the deduction. You still have to calculate and remit on time, and late remittance draws a 10% penalty, or 20% for gross negligence, under section 227(9) of the Income Tax Act. If you are not sure whether a helper is an employee or a contractor, either of you can ask the CRA for a CPP/EI ruling.

Licences and permits are mostly municipal

Canada has no general federal or provincial business licence, except in a few areas such as broadcasting and telecommunications, according to BDC’s licensing guide. Licences come from three places: your city (zoning, signage and activity licences, which home-based businesses often skip in practice), your province (food premises, childcare and regulated trades and professions), and occasionally the federal government (environmental permits, some imports).

BizPaL, an online permit finder, lists the authorizations for your address and industry. Run it before you sign a lease, because a zoning refusal after signing is the most expensive mistake on this list. BDC notes that licence costs range from hundreds to thousands of dollars and may renew annually. Many sole proprietors, such as freelance writers, consultants and interior designers, need no licence at all.

How much it costs to start a business in Canada

Government registration costs $60 to $580, depending on structure and province; the business you build costs 100 to 1,000 times that. The registration side, from the fee schedules above:

• Sole proprietorship: $0 under your own name; $60 for an Ontario name for five years; $70 in British Columbia.
• Corporation: $200 federal online (plus $0 in Ontario or $380 in BC to register there); $300 Ontario; $380 British Columbia; Alberta via a registry agent.
• Ongoing: $12 federal annual return; $43.39 BC annual report; Ontario annual return free. Business names in Ontario renew every five years for $60.

For the business itself, the asking prices of businesses already running give a floor on what it costs to reach a given income. Across 1,400+ priced Canadian listings, the median ask is $460,000 and the median stated SDE is $207,213 (n=657) (Main Street Index, October 6, 2026). That ask excludes 73 templated franchise new-territory adverts; with them left in, as on our buying guide, the median is $437,000. The bands below show what each budget buys.

Two things stand out. First, cheap listings rarely say what they earn: only 11.6% of the 146 listings asking under $100,000 state SDE, against 51% of those asking $500,000 or more. A business priced like a used car is often priced on its equipment, not its profit. Second, the $100,000 to $250,000 band states a median $72,296 of owner earnings (n=71). For comparison, businesses three years old or younger state a median $124,257 (n=31), so a successful start can out-earn most of what $250,000 buys.

The common question “is $5,000 enough” has a split answer. It is enough to start a service business you run yourself; it is not enough to buy one, since only 56 Canadian listings (3.8% of those priced) ask under $50,000. Our cost to start a business guide breaks start-up costs down by business type, and starting with no money covers the zero-capital end.

Business and professional services return the most stated owner earnings per dollar of asking price in Canada: 35.1 cents per dollar asked, a 2.85x median multiple (n=45). Automotive and transport return the least, 26.0 cents (3.85x, n=49) (Main Street Index, October 6, 2026). A high ratio means the market pays little for the business beyond its earnings, which is what you would expect where the value sits in skills and relationships rather than equipment. Those are the businesses a founder can build cheaply.

“Easiest” and “cheapest” point to slightly different sectors. By entry price, the lowest median asks belong to personal care and wellness ($299K, n=85), consumer services ($310K, n=53) and education and childcare ($310K, n=36). Their earnings samples are below 30 (29, 23 and 11 listings), so we show price only. Retail and food and beverage follow at about $350,000, but food needs a lease, equipment and a food premises licence, which makes it the hardest of the cheap sectors to start from scratch.

At least 67 of the 146 listings asking under $100,000 say the business can be run from home. The flag is only recorded when a seller ticks it, so the true share is higher. Home-based services skip the lease, the zoning permit and most of the fit-out cost, which is why they dominate every list of easy starts. Founders in the trades say the same:

“Another option with low barriers: Grass Cutting/basic landscaping in the summer. And snow removal in the winter. Just make sure to get insurance.”r/SmallBusinessCanada, on what to start with $30K

Construction and property shows why the cheapest start is not always the best. Its businesses state the highest median earnings of any sector, $488,161, but ask $1.49M (n=37), and regulated trades need provincial certification, which BDC notes is set by professional bodies rather than a general licence. If you hold the ticket, it is a strong start; if you do not, the licence is the first cost. Our what business should I start guide helps match a sector to your skills, and the most profitable small businesses ranks earnings across the full index.

Canadian businesses three years old or younger state a median $124,257 of owner earnings (n=31) and ask $250,000 (n=89). Businesses 21 years or older state $220,000 (n=203) and ask $844,444 (n=323) (Main Street Index, October 6, 2026). This is the closest public view of where a Canadian start can be after three years: about 56% of a mature business’s earnings, priced at about 30% of its value.

Three readings matter for a founder. Earnings climb fast, then plateau. Median SDE rises from $124,257 at 0 to 3 years to $156,237 at 4 to 10 and $227,475 at 11 to 20, then holds at $220,000 past 20 years. Most of the earnings growth a small Canadian business will see happens in its first decade.

The price of a dollar of earnings rises with age. Multiples go from 3.18x at 4 to 10 years to 3.30x past 21. Buyers pay for track record, which is the value a founder creates by surviving, on top of the earnings themselves.

Young businesses hide their numbers. Only 28.2% of the 0 to 3 year listings state earnings, against 50.2% of older ones, and at least 24.5% are flagged as franchise resales against 14.9% of older listings. The young sample is therefore tilted toward franchise units and toward sellers with something to show. Read $124,257 as what a successful young business states, not what an average start earns; plenty of starts never reach a sale. Our business success rate study covers how many survive.

Funding a start: CSBFP loans and BDC

The main government-backed route for a Canadian start-up is the Canada Small Business Financing Program (CSBFP). Banks, credit unions and caisses lend the money and approve the loan; the federal government shares the risk. Businesses with revenue of $10 million or less, including start-ups, qualify, per ISED:

• Up to $1.15 million per borrower, of which up to $1 million in term loans and $150,000 in lines of credit.
• Up to $500,000 of a term loan for leasehold improvements and equipment, and up to $150,000 for intangible assets and working capital.
• A 2% registration fee on the amount lent, which can itself be financed.
• Rate caps: prime plus 3% on floating term loans, prime plus 5% on lines of credit. Buying a franchise is an eligible use.

Lenders can take a personal guarantee, and must take security on the assets financed. That is why a home-based service with no equipment usually funds itself from savings or a personal line of credit, while a restaurant or clinic start runs through the CSBFP. BDC, the federal development bank, is the other common lender, and bdc.ca carries start-up guides and plan templates.

“If you're an entrepreneur and have no assets, why would the banks loan you money if they can't secure it against anything?”r/SmallBusinessCanada

Starting a business as a newcomer or non-resident

Owning a Canadian business and working in it are separate questions. At incorporation, each federal director discloses whether they are a resident Canadian, per Corporations Canada, and Alberta requires a registered office and agent for service inside the province. Check director-residency rules for your province with a lawyer. Working in the business, or living in Canada to run it, needs immigration status, and the two entrepreneur routes most guides still describe are now mostly closed:

• Start-up Visa: paused. IRCC paused the program on June 30, 2026 and accepts no new applications; it is processing only files with a valid 2025 commitment certificate submitted by that date (IRCC, checked October 6, 2026). It required a letter of support from a designated organization, Canadian Language Benchmark 5, and settlement funds of $15,263 for a single applicant.
• Self-employed persons program: limited to people with experience in cultural activities or athletics, per IRCC. It does not cover a general small business.

In practice, most newcomers start after they hold permanent residence or an open work permit, often by running a side business while employed. If you hold a work permit tied to one employer, check its conditions with IRCC or a licensed consultant before you take paid work in your own company. Guides written before mid-2026 may still describe the Start-up Visa as open; check the IRCC page before you plan around it.

US citizens looking at North American options can compare the E-2 visa business route, which our data covers separately.

Buy instead of start?

Buying skips the first three years; starting skips the price. The age table puts numbers on the trade. A Canadian business three years old or younger asks a median $250,000 (n=89) for $124,257 of stated earnings (n=31). An 11 to 20 year business asks $562,500 (n=194) for $227,475 (n=125). If you could build a $124,000 business in three years on less than $250,000 of capital and lost salary, starting wins. If not, a seller has already done it.

Two Canadian facts favour buying more than most guides admit. The CSBFP finances franchise purchases and equipment, and 1,400+ Canadian businesses for sale are priced and listed today. Our guide to buying a business in Canada covers share versus asset purchases and financing, and retiring-owner listings covers the sellers most open to vendor financing. The general case is in buy vs start a business and the step list in how to buy a business. If you are open to the US too, the best state to buy a business compares American markets.

“The only way a small business is successful is if the owner is hands on and all in.”r/askTO, a small business owner

That holds whichever route you take. Before you register anything, check what businesses like the one you plan earn in your province: the Main Street Index shows asking price, stated owner earnings and why each owner is selling for every Canadian listing behind this page.

What this data cannot tell you

The listing figures describe businesses that owners chose to sell, at prices they chose to ask; none is a closed sale (Main Street Index, 1,800+ Canadian listings, October 6, 2026). Five limits matter:

• Asking, not closing. Final prices are usually lower, and stated SDE is unaudited.
• Survivors only. Businesses that failed never reach a listing, so the young-business figures describe successful starts, not typical ones.
• One marketplace. All Canadian listings come from one large marketplace. Broker-only and off-market deals are missing.
• Sector, not industry. No single Canadian industry has 30 listings stating both price and earnings, so the guide reports sectors. A sector mixes very different businesses.
• Fees and programs change. Every fee was checked on October 6, 2026; immigration programs in particular have changed several times in 2026.

None of this is legal, tax or immigration advice. Confirm the details for your situation with an accountant, lawyer or licensed immigration consultant.

Methodology and data sources

We started from 84,900+ listings in the Main Street Index and kept Canadian listings quoted in Canadian dollars on an SDE basis, with cross-site duplicates removed: 1,800+ listings, read with read-only SQL on October 6, 2026. Earnings are seller’s discretionary earnings (profit plus the owner’s pay), used only where the listing states an exact figure; ranges such as “$100K - $250K” were not converted. Every figure is a median, and any cut with fewer than 30 listings is withheld.

We removed 73 templated franchise-opportunity adverts before any median: listings whose description opens with the same 120 characters on three or more listings in two or more provinces, such as new-territory adverts for home care, fire safety and window-covering franchises. One broker’s standard disclaimer was exempt because it sits on genuinely different businesses. Business age uses years in operation where stated, else 2026 minus the founding year. The home-based flag is stored only when a seller ticks it, so we report it as a floor.

Frequently asked questions