🇨🇦 Canada
Company data, directors, shareholders and owners for Canadian businesses
Overview
AiPrise verifies Canadian businesses against Corporations Canada (federal) and the business registry of each province and territory. A business verification returns the company profile, directors and officers, and, where the register publishes them, shareholders and beneficial owners, plus the register's business profile document.
Coverage
| Data point | Returned | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Company profile | Yes | Legal name, legal form, status, registration date, registered address |
| Directors and officers | Yes | |
| Shareholders | Yes, in some provinces | Seen for Alberta, Quebec and Saskatchewan companies |
| Ultimate beneficial owners | Yes, federal and Quebec | From the federal register of individuals with significant control and the Quebec register |
| GST/HST number check | Yes | Separate check |
| Document | Returned |
|---|---|
| Register extract (official business profile) | Yes |
| Articles of incorporation | No |
| Financial statements | No |
Documents, as the register names them
- Official Business Profile (register extract)
Speed
| Step | Typical | 9 in 10 within |
|---|---|---|
| Business verification, federal and most provinces (company data, officers, owners, profile document) | 40 seconds | 2.5 minutes |
| Business verification, Nova Scotia | 16 minutes | 6 hours |
The business profile document comes back with the verification. Some registries answer only during office hours (see Quirks and gotchas), so use callbacks instead of waiting on the verification response. These are typical times from production, not a service-level commitment: set timeouts well above them.
Company types
Every entity in the federal register and the provincial and territorial registries is covered. What comes back depends on the type and the province.
| Company type | Legal forms | Covered | What to expect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corporation (federal or provincial) | Corporation | Yes | Full data: directors, officers; shareholders and owners where the register publishes them |
| Partnership | Partnership | Yes | Profile and partners |
| Sole proprietorship | Sole Proprietorship | Yes | Profile and owner |
| Registered business name | Business, Trade Name | Yes | Profile |
Sources
| Register | What it gives |
|---|---|
| Corporations Canada (federal) | Company profile, directors, beneficial owners |
| Alberta Registry | Company profile, directors, shareholders |
| OrgBook BC | Company profile, directors, officers |
| Manitoba Companies Office | Company profile, directors |
| New Brunswick Corporate Registry | Company profile, directors |
| Newfoundland and Labrador Registry of Companies | Company profile |
| Northwest Territories Corporate Registry | Company profile |
| Nova Scotia Registry | Company profile, directors, recognized agent |
| Nunavut Registry | Company profile |
| Ontario Business Registry | Company profile, directors, officers |
| Prince Edward Island Corporate Registry | Company profile |
| Quebec Registry | Company profile, directors, officers, shareholders, ultimate beneficiaries |
| Saskatchewan Corporate Registry | Company profile, directors, officers, shareholders |
| Yukon Registry | Company profile |
| Canada Revenue Agency GST/HST Registry | GST/HST number check |
Identifiers
Send the legal name in name or the registry number in business_entity_id, the province in state_code, and country_code set to CA.
| Identifier | Format | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Province or territory | 2-letter code. English or French names are also accepted. Use CD for a federal corporation. | ON, QC, BC |
| Registry number | Depends on the registry, for example 10 digits, or a BC prefix in British Columbia | 1234567890 or BC1234567 |
| Business Number (BN) | 9 digits | 123456789 |
| GST/HST account | The 9-digit BN, RT and 4 digits. Used only for the GST/HST check. | 123456789RT0001 |
Statuses and legal forms
Every result carries the register's own status in registration_info.status and an AiPrise status in registration_info.normalised_status. The normalised status is one of Active, Suspended, Dormant, Dissolved / Struck Off, In Liquidation / Insolvency or Unknown.
| Register status | Normalised status |
|---|---|
| Active, ACTIVE | Active |
| Immatriculée (Quebec) | Active |
| HISTORICAL - Dissolved for Failure to File | Dissolved / Struck Off |
| Refer to Governing Jurisdiction | Unknown |
Legal forms come back in entity_type as Corporation, Partnership, Sole Proprietorship, Business or Trade Name.
Quirks and gotchas
Country-specific behaviour to know before you integrate.
| Quirk | Details |
|---|---|
| Province is required | Send the province in state_code, or a province in the first address. Without one the check is rejected. Use CD for a federal corporation. |
| Name wins over number | When you send both name and business_entity_id, the register is searched by name. Send only the number for an exact lookup. |
| Office-hours registries | Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut answer only during office hours (Eastern time). Results can take hours, or 1 to 4 business days in Nunavut. Alberta and British Columbia close overnight. |
| Owners depend on the register | Beneficial owners come back for federal corporations (about 1 in 4 have them) and for Quebec companies. Shareholders come back for Alberta, Quebec and Saskatchewan. Other provinces return directors and officers only. |
| Statuses are free text | Each registry words its statuses differently, and less common ones (amalgamated, revived, dissolution pending) come back as Unknown. Read registration_info.status before acting on an Unknown. |
| Quebec answers in French | Quebec statuses and roles come back in French, for example Immatriculée, Administrateur, Actionnaire and Bénéficiaire Ultime. |
| Extra-provincial registrations | A company registered outside its home province can show Refer to Governing Jurisdiction. Search its home province for the full record. |
Limits
- Shareholders and beneficial owners are returned only where the register publishes them.
- Articles of incorporation and financial statements are not available.
- Office-hours registries can delay results past a business day.
Updated about 7 hours ago