Overall we are number four (4) in the world for doing business but number one (1) for starting a business. Yahoo for us! You can view all the results over at the World Bank, Canada page.

Apparently, entrepreneurs in Canada only need to go through two steps to start a business which takes approx. 3 days and requires $ 2,934. Compared to the U.S. (# 3 for starting a business) who have five (5) steps which takes five days and costs $3,061.80 to start a business in the U.S.

The survey results do not state what exactly the 'costs' to start a business are actually used for. I assume that it is the cost to get a lawyer to incorporate, registration fees and licenses, and perhaps accounting fees? However, it could be based on the costs to incorporate a Federal corporation whereas registering a provincial corporation are usually lower, at least that is my experience in Alberta.

The bottom line is that it is pretty easy to start a business in Canada and the costs are comparable to our U.S. neighbors.