Data and studies · Quarterly barometer

Canada Incorporation Barometer

Each quarter we publish what [n] anonymized files say about founders’ real choices: jurisdictions, timing, sectors, non-residents. Open data, published method, free to cite with attribution.

Current editionQuarter [Q] [year]Published [date] · [n] files · 14 jurisdictionsDownload report (PDF)

Files analyzed: [n]; +[xx]% vs previous quarter
Median time to certificate: [n] h; −[xx]% vs previous quarter
Share of non-resident founders: [xx]%; +[xx] pts vs previous quarter
Name refused on first filing: [xx]%; −[xx] pts vs previous quarter

Incorporations by jurisdictionShare of the quarter’s files

Federal[xx]%

Quebec[xx]%

Ontario[xx]%

British Columbia[xx]%

Alberta[xx]%

Other[xx]%

Registry fees for reference: federal $200, Ontario $300, B.C. $350, Quebec $397.

Median time from filing to certificateRegistry business hours

[n] h

OntarioFederalB.C.Quebec

Registry-stated times: federal 1 business day, Ontario a few hours, B.C. 1–2 days, Quebec 1–3 days.

Sectors of new companiesTop 6 declared NAICS codes

Consulting[xx]%

Tech and software[xx]%

Retail[xx]%

Construction[xx]%

Health and wellness[xx]%

Real estate[xx]%

Non-resident founders: country of originFiles with at least one director outside Canada · [xx]% of total

France[xx]%

United States[xx]%

Morocco[xx]%

Belgium[xx]%

Other[xx]%

Jurisdiction chosen by non-residents: Quebec [xx]%, Ontario [xx]%, B.C. [xx]%, federal [xx]% (25% resident rule).

Mock-up bars: illustrative proportions until data is published.

Method

Scope: Incorporations completed on Incorpo.ca during the quarter, all jurisdictions, excluding non-profits and continuations.
Anonymization: Aggregated by jurisdiction, sector (2-digit NAICS) and country of residence; cells under 10 files go to “Other”.
Timing: From transmission to the registry to certificate receipt, in registry business hours; median, not mean.
Known biases: Sample of online-service users: likely over-representation of consulting, tech and francophone non-residents.
Revisions: Past editions are kept as published; corrections are flagged at the top of the file with their date.

Method reviewed by Sophie Lemieux, CPA. The data can’t identify a company or person. Incorpo.ca isn’t affiliated with any government; registries remain the official source.

Downloads

Full report Q[Q] [year][n] pages · charts and commentary
Aggregated data by jurisdiction[n] rows · UTF-8 · comma-separated
Timing by registry, quarterly seriesSince Q[Q] [year] · median and quartiles
Full workbook with data dictionaryAll series · [n] sheets

Licence: CC BY 4.0 · credit “Incorpo.ca, Incorporation Barometer, Q[Q] [year]”.

For press · suggested quote

« According to Incorpo.ca’s Incorporation Barometer (Q[Q] [year], [n] files), [xx]% of new companies formed by non-resident founders choose Quebec, which has no director residency requirement. »

Press kit and HD chartsPress contact: [email protected] · reply within 24 business hours.

Past editions and studies

All publications →

BarometerQuarter [Q−1] [year]Published [date] · [n] files BarometerQuarter [Q−2] [year]Published [date] · [n] files StudyThe real cost of incorporating, registry by registryPublished [date] · 14 jurisdictions StudyRefused names: the 10 most common reasonsPublished [date] · [n] filings analyzed