Registering a Business as a Non-Canadian
If someone is not a resident and citizen of Canada, that person must have a Canadian associate to register a business. If you don’t have a Canadian associate, you can’t work in most provinces of Canada.
Your business associate doesn’t have to have a Canadian passport. Primary citizenship would suffice.
Those without Canadian associate can only register a corporation in a few provinces such as British Colombia and Quebec.
You don’t have to introduce your Canadian associate as the CEO, but his name must be registered in all the papers and he must own 51 percent of the shares. The initial capital of the owners depends on what parties agree upon.
As a foreign corporation, you need an agent if you want to establish a branch in any province of Canada. The agent must be of legal age and he/she needs a given address in the corresponding Canadian province.
You can register the branch or the representative of the corporation in these provinces and work as a foreign corporation in any part of the country.
If you have an online business and you want to use the Canadian market, there is no need to register the corporation in Canada. You should consider certain tax issues. However, if your business develops more than a certain amount, you must register the business in Canada. This is due to receiving value-added tax.