🇨🇦How to verify a supplier in Canada
To verify a supplier in Canada, look the company up for free in the official Corporations Canada (federal) + provincial registries and confirm it is registered and currently active. The registry returns registered name, corporation number, status, and directors for federally incorporated companies.
The official registry
- Registry
- Corporations Canada (federal) + provincial registries
- Company ID
- corporation number / business number (BN)
- Cost
- Free basic lookup
- Active status
- Status reads Active or Dissolved. Provincially incorporated companies are in the province's registry (e.g. Ontario, BC, Quebec), not the federal one, so check the right level.
Verify it in four steps
1. Open the Corporations Canada (federal) + provincial registries
Corporations Canada (federal) + provincial registries is the official government record of companies in Canada. Basic name or number search is free.
2. Search the exact legal name or ID
Search the supplier's registered name or its corporation number / business number (BN). If the name does not match cleanly, treat it as a red flag, it may be a trade name, a different entity, or wrong.
3. Confirm it is active, not struck off
Status reads Active or Dissolved. Provincially incorporated companies are in the province's registry (e.g. Ontario, BC, Quebec), not the federal one, so check the right level.
4. Check it makes what it sells
A real factory carries a manufacturing activity code and a consistent trade history; a middleman reselling everything is the most common mismatch.
This is a factual pointer to public records, not legal advice. For the full method, see the 7 checks that separate a real supplier from a scam.
We do this check for you
On every Canada company we list, we show what the open record says, each linked to its free public source so you can re-check it yourself, no paid badge. And we go past the big directories to the local and craft makers who are too small for them but real, then verify and sort them, so you find genuine Canada suppliers, not just the loudest.
Questions
Is checking a Canada supplier free?
Yes. A basic name or number lookup in the Corporations Canada (federal) + provincial registries is free. Some full official extracts are paid, but confirming a company exists and is active costs nothing.
What ID does a Canada company have?
Its corporation number / business number (BN). Ask the supplier for it, then confirm it in the Corporations Canada (federal) + provincial registries and check the registered name matches.
How do I know a Canada supplier is a real manufacturer, not a reseller?
The registry's activity code is the tell: a manufacturing code means a real maker, a wholesale or retail code means a trader.