How to Name and Register Your Business in Canada
A practical guide to choosing a business name that is legally available, strategically sound, and properly registered. Covers NUANS searches, provincial corporate registries, federal trademark searches, and the difference between legal names, operating names, and trade names.
Start LearningA practical guide to choosing a business name that is legally available, strategically sound, and properly registered. Covers NUANS searches, provincial corporate registries, federal trademark searches, and the difference between legal names, operating names, and trade names.
Christopher Cascanette
Co-Founder, IVONNE · Director At Large
Christopher Cascanette brings over two decades of experience spanning telecommunications, intellectual property law, and legal technology.
His career began in oilfield communications in northern Alberta, designing and deploying communication systems for remote industrial operations. From there, he moved into telecommunications, spending several years with some of North America's largest telephone operators, working on network infrastructure, systems integration, and service delivery at scale.
A transition into law followed, beginning in intellectual property — patents and trademarks — where he developed a practical understanding of how businesses protect their most valuable intangible assets. That foundation led to thirteen years with the largest law firm in the world, where he worked in legal business technology: building and implementing technical solutions for lawyers and the operationally complex environments they work in.
In 2017, he co-founded IVONNE with Ivonne Sanchez. What he found in the cosmetic industry was familiar: talented practitioners operating without the structured systems, policies, or operational infrastructure that other professional industries take for granted. He set out to change that — applying the same rigour he had brought to telecommunications networks and global law firms to building a clinic that runs on process, logic, and accountability.
The courses he authors on this platform are informed by that full arc of experience — not by theory, but by the direct practice of building communication systems, navigating intellectual property registrations, solving technology problems for the most demanding professionals in the world, and then starting a business from scratch and running it for nearly a decade.
The perspective is simple: business owners deserve clear, honest, practical information — the kind that is typically locked behind expensive professional engagements or buried in jargon designed to keep you dependent on someone else. These courses exist to change that.
1 Why Your Business Name Is a Legal Decision, Not Just a Creative One
Understanding that naming a business involves legal clearance, not just preference.
1.1 The Name You Want May Already Belong to Someone Else
Why assuming a name is available because you thought of it is the most common and costly mistake new business owners make.
1.2 Legal Name vs Operating Name vs Trade Name
The three types of business names, what each one means, and when you need which.
1.3 Sole Proprietorship vs Incorporation — What Changes About Your Name
How your business structure affects naming requirements, flexibility, and protection.
2 How to Search for Name Availability
The specific databases and search tools you need to check before committing to a business name.
2.1 The NUANS Search — Federal Corporate Name Database
What NUANS is, how to order a report, and how to read the results.
2.2 Provincial Corporate Registry Search
How to search your province's business registry for existing names.
2.3 Canadian Trademark Search (CIPO)
Searching the federal trademark database and understanding why this search outranks all others.
2.4 Google and Social Media — The Last Search, Not the First
Why Google and social media searches come last in the process and what they actually tell you.
3 Choosing a Name That Works
Strategic considerations for selecting a business name that serves you long-term.
3.1 Descriptive vs Distinctive — The Spectrum of Business Names
Understanding the trade-offs between a name that describes what you do and a name that stands out.
3.2 Common Naming Mistakes That Cost Money Later
The most frequent errors business owners make when choosing a name and how to avoid them.
3.3 Testing Your Name Before You Commit
Practical tests to run on your proposed name before you register anything.
4 Registering Your Business Name
The actual registration process — what to file, where to file it, and what it costs.
4.1 Provincial Business Name Registration
Step-by-step process for registering a business name in your province.
4.2 Federal Incorporation — The NUANS-Required Path
How the naming process works when you incorporate federally through Corporations Canada.
4.3 When and Why to Consider Trademark Registration
Understanding whether and when trademark registration makes sense for your business.
Course Overview
- 4 modules
- 13 lessons
- Moderate complexity
365-day access
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