Upcoming, Practical Changes To Ontario's Business Corporations Act

Bill 213, the Better for People, Smarter for Business Act, 2020 received Royal Assent in December of 2020.  As a result, some significant amendments to Ontario's Business Corporations Act  ("OBCA") will come into force on July 5th, 2021:

1. Elimination of Director's Canadian Residency Requirements

Currently, Subsection 118(3) of the OBCA mandates at least 25 percent of directors of an Ontario corporation to be resident Canadians, and if a corporation has less than 4 directors, at least 1 of them must be a resident Canadian.  On July 5th, 2021, this Section of the OBCA will be repealed and Ontario will join the majority of Canadian provinces and territories in no longer requiring directors of Ontario corporations to be resident Canadian.