The Government of Alberta has passed important changes to
the Alberta Business Corporations Act (the
"ABCA") that makes Alberta a more
welcoming jurisdiction for non-Canadian businesses to incorporate
their Canadian subsidiaries. The Red Tape Reduction
Implementation Act, 2020 ("RTRI
Act"), an omnibus law that received Royal Assent
on July 23, 2020, amongst other provisions, eliminates the
ABCA's Canadian residency requirements for corporate directors.
The RTRI Act amendments relating to business corporations
were proclaimed into law on March 29,
2021.
Removing Canadian Residency Requirements
The RTRI Act has removed in its entirety, Section 105(3) of the
ABCA which required at least 1/4 (25%) of the directors of an ABCA
corporation to be residents of Canada or, if the corporation had
less than four directors, at least one director to be a resident of
Canada.
