Sheng Qian CPA logoSHENG QIAN PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION (CPA)晟谦会计师事务所

Foreign Companies Investing in Canada

Written for companies from mainland China and Hong Kong that are getting ready to enter the Canadian market. These 22 articles explain what you need to do at each step and what to watch out for: choosing a branch or a subsidiary and deciding where to incorporate; getting a Business Number, opening a bank account, hiring staff and filing taxes; and loans, pricing and bringing profits home between you and the parent company.

  1. Setting Up a Wholly Owned Subsidiary in Canada: Why Ontario?Ontario's advantages in population, economy, finance, the Chinese community and incorporation procedures, how it compares with BC, incorporating in Ontario through EasyU Incorporation (Express incorporation), Sheng Qian CPA's incorporation packages, business address and mail handling

    Updated 2026-11-0310 min read

  2. Federal or Ontario Corporation: What's the Same and What's Different?Same tax and same legal status, differences in name protection, resident directors, annual returns and extra-provincial registration, how to choose, Sheng Qian CPA can incorporate either (same price, optional Express incorporation)

    Updated 2026-11-036 min read

  3. Doing Business in Canada: Branch or Subsidiary?The legal and tax differences between the two structures, Part XIV branch tax, the Canada–China and Canada–Hong Kong treaties, PE, a simplified calculation

    Updated 2026-11-0315 min read

  4. Your Company Is Incorporated: What Comes Next?The first 30 days after incorporation (Minute Book, initial return, tax accounts, bank account, bookkeeping, before you hire), the fixed dates every year, the three most common problems, how Sheng Qian CPA can help

    Updated 2026-11-039 min read

  5. What Sheng Qian CPA Can Do for Foreign Companies: Services from Set-Up to Day-to-Day OperationsServices and prices across six stages: before set-up, set-up, getting established (business address, mail handling), day-to-day, annual and cross-border, how to get started

    Updated 2026-11-035 min read

  6. Do the Directors of a Canadian Corporation Have to Be Canadian Residents?How the federal and provincial rules differ, and how to choose where to incorporate

    Updated 2026-11-037 min read

  7. Shareholders, Directors and the "Legal Representative": Who Makes the Decisions in a Canadian Corporation?Canada has no legal representative role; what shareholders, directors and officers each decide, and who can sign

    Updated 2026-11-037 min read

  8. Is There a "Business Registration Bureau" in Canada? Minute Books, Government Filings and Share RegistersWhat the government registry keeps, where shareholder information is held, what a Minute Book is, and how to transfer shares

    Updated 2026-11-036 min read

  9. Which Tax Accounts Do You Need After Incorporating?The BN and the GST/HST, Payroll and import-export accounts, and what each one is for

    Updated 2026-11-035 min read

  10. Do You Need to Register for GST/HST? The Small Supplier Threshold and Input Tax CreditsThe $30,000 threshold, the benefits of registering voluntarily, claiming input tax credits

    Updated 2026-11-038 min read

  11. Opening a Canadian Bank Account as a Foreign Company: Where the Difficulty LiesThe documents banks ask for, director and beneficial ownership information, how long it takes

    Updated 2026-11-034 min read

  12. Can a Foreign-Controlled Corporation Use the Small Business Tax Rate?What a Canadian-controlled private corporation (CCPC) is, how foreign control affects the tax rate

    Updated 2026-11-034 min read

  13. Importing Goods: Duties, Customs and Import GSTThe import process, tariff classification, claiming import GST as an input tax credit

    Updated 2026-11-035 min read

  14. First-Year Bookkeeping and Year-End: Choosing Your Fiscal YearChoosing your year-end, financial statement requirements, T2 deadlines

    Updated 2026-11-036 min read

  15. Sending Employees to Canada: Personal Tax and PayrollTax residence while working in Canada, withholding, the tax treaty

    Updated 2026-11-036 min read

  16. Hiring Local Employees in Canada: Payroll and Employment StandardsWithholding CPP, EI and income tax, T4s, key Ontario employment standards

    Updated 2026-11-035 min read

  17. Lending to Your Canadian Subsidiary: The Thin Capitalization RulesThe debt-to-equity limit, and what happens to interest on the excess

    Updated 2026-11-0312 min read

  18. Transactions with the Parent Company: What to Watch in Transfer PricingPricing related-party transactions, T106 filing, documentation requirements

    Updated 2026-11-034 min read

  19. Taking Money Out of Canada: Withholding Tax on Dividends, Interest and Management FeesNon-resident withholding tax, treaty rates, how to report

    Updated 2026-11-035 min read

  20. Your Canadian Company Is Making Money: How to Repatriate Profits to the Parent ProperlyThe dividend process, withholding tax, treaties and documentation

    Updated 2026-11-035 min read

  21. Can R&D Spending Earn Tax Credits? SR&ED for Foreign-Controlled CompaniesHow the credits differ for foreign-controlled companies and CCPCs, key points for claiming

    Updated 2026-11-035 min read

  22. Buying a Plant or Commercial Property Through Your Company: Tax and RestrictionsLand transfer tax, and what the ban on non-Canadians buying residential property does and doesn't cover

    Updated 2026-11-037 min read

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