Over the last three years, securities regulators in the United
States and Canada have proposed major reforms to securities law
requirements to facilitate "equity crowdfunding", or the
sale of securities by issuers to large numbers of investors through
online portal intermediaries.
With final rules for equity crowdfunding expected to be in place
in 2015, widespread equity crowdfunding may soon become a reality
in the United States and Canada. However, even in the absence of
these rules, more limited forms of equity crowdfunding are already
occurring here and in the United States.
In Canada, as explained below, a number of registered dealers
already operate or have announced plans to establish online portals
to facilitate the sale of securities through the Internet (both
primary issuances and secondary trading) in reliance on existing
prospectus exemptions, including the "accredited
investor" exemption1 and (in the jurisdictions
where available) the "offering
