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- Registered charities and non-profit organizations (NPOs) both operate on a non-for-profit basis, however, they are not the same in Canada. Organizations can either be a charity or an NPO, but not both. To understand the differences between them, consult What is the difference between a registered charity and a non-profit organization?
- For a listing of registered charities in Canada, use the List of Charities. For a listing of NPOs (& other corporations) in Canada, use Corporations Canada - Search for a Federal Corporation.
Provides a listing of federal corporations in Canada created under one of the following federal pieces of legislation:
- Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA)
- Not-for-profit corporation created under the Canada Corporations Act, Part II (CCA II)
- Not-for-profit corporation created under the Canada Not-for profit Corporations Act (NFP)
- Cooperative created under the Canada Cooperatives Act (COOP)
- Board of trade created under the Boards of Trade Act (BOTA)
- Other corporation regulated by Corporations Canada (e.g., special act corporation)
This database does not include corporations created under financial legislation (such as financial institutions, insurance companies or loan and trust companies) or those created under provincial, territorial or other corporate legislation. Corporations created under provincial/territorial legislation can be found by consulting Canada’s Business Registries
Searches can be performed by Corporate Name, Corporation Number, or Business Number (BN). Additional search options include Province or Registered Office, Corporation Status (e.g., active, inactive, dissolved) and Governing Legislation (e.g., CBCA, NFP, BOTA, etc.).
Records include a sample corporate profile with links to order a complete corporate profile and corporate documents (e.g., Annual Return - a one page document consisting of Corporate name, Corporation number, Year of filing, Date of last annual meeting of members, and if the corporation is a soliciting corporation). If additional information is required (e.g., financial data), you may need to contact Corporations Canada directly.
