1. Introductory
1.1 Forms of Corporate/Business
Organisations
The principal form of business organisation in Canada is the
business corporation which affords shareholders limited liability
protection, and Canada has 14 different business corporations
statutes under which these can be incorporated. The Canada Business
Corporations Act or "CBCA" is Canada's federal
business corporations statute. Each of Canada's 13 provinces
and three territories also has its own business corporations
statute. However, these are generally modelled on the CBCA such
that, in most cases and subject to limited exceptions (such as
director residency requirements), there is generally little
substantive difference among them practically speaking. Several
provincial business corporations statutes in Canada provide for
unlimited liability corporations, which may be advantageous as part
of cross-border tax planning (but which do not necessarily provide
shareholders the extent of limited
