Who this guide is for

You are starting or running a business in Canada and you want a .ca domain for your website and email. This guide covers who is allowed to register one, what it really costs once renewals kick in, which registrant type to pick, and the rules that matter later: privacy, expiry, transfers, and disputes.

It does not cover building the website itself. If you are starting an online store, see how to start an online store in Canada.

How we researched this

This is a research-only guide. We did not register domains at these registrars to write it. The rules come from CIRA, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority, which runs the .ca registry: its Canadian Presence Requirements, General Registration Rules, Registrant Agreement, and help pages. Prices come from each registrar's own pricing page, checked on September 30, 2026. Where a registrar did not publish a .ca price we could read, we say so rather than use a third-party figure. Every source is listed at the end.

The short answer

  1. Check you qualify. Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and Canadian corporations cover most small businesses.
  2. Pick the right registrant type. A sole proprietor registers as an individual. A corporation should usually register in the corporation's name.
  3. Compare the renewal price, not the first year. Three years of .ca cost CAD $37.97 to $71.97 at the Canadian registrars we checked.
  4. Do not pay for WHOIS privacy as an individual. CIRA already hides your details for free.
  5. Turn on auto-renew. An expired .ca can be redeemed for a while, but usually for a fee, and then anyone can register it.

Who can register a .ca

CIRA only lets registrants who meet its Canadian Presence Requirements hold a .ca. The list has 18 categories. The ones that cover most small businesses are:

  • Canadian citizens of the age of majority in their province or territory
  • Permanent residents who are ordinarily resident in Canada, which CIRA defines as living in Canada more than 183 days in the 12 months before applying, and in each 12-month period after that while they hold the domain
  • Corporations formed under the laws of Canada or of a province or territory
  • Partnerships registered in a province or territory, where more than 66.6% of the partners meet one of the individual or corporate conditions
  • Trusts, associations, trade unions, educational institutions, hospitals, governments, and Indian bands, each with its own definition

Non-Canadians. A person or company that does not meet any other condition can register a .ca only if it owns a trademark registered in Canada, and only for a domain consisting of or including the exact word component of that trademark.

CIRA can check later. You declare your category when you register, and CIRA's Registrant Agreement says you must keep meeting the requirements for the whole term. CIRA runs registrant validation reviews at its discretion. If it finds you do not qualify, it locks the domain and then cancels it, and the name becomes available to the public.

Which registrant type to choose

There is no "sole proprietorship" category. CIRA groups citizens and permanent residents as individuals, and a sole proprietor registers as one of those, using their own name. That has two effects:

  • The domain belongs to you personally, which matches how a sole proprietorship works anyway.
  • You get free WHOIS privacy, because CIRA hides the personal information of individual registrants by default.

If you have incorporated, register the domain in the corporation's name under the corporation category. The domain is then an asset of the company, which matters if you sell the business or bring in partners. The trade-off is that CIRA does not automatically hide business registrants in WHOIS; privacy depends on your registrar (more on that below). Not sure which structure you have or want? See sole proprietorship vs corporation in Canada.

Registering under the wrong category is how a domain ends up in a validation review, so pick the category that matches who legally owns the business. To change it later, CIRA says you contact your registrar.

.ca or .com?

CIRA's own pitch is that only Canadians can register a .ca, which "signals your connection to Canada." The more practical point is how search engines read it. Google's guidance on multi-regional sites says country-code domains "provide a strong signal to both users and search engines that your site is explicitly intended for a certain country." Google keeps a short list of country codes it treats as generic, such as .io and .co. The .ca is not on it.

  • Most customers in Canada: a .ca is a sensible default. It tells Canadian buyers and search engines who you serve.
  • Most customers outside Canada: a .com avoids tying the site to one country.
  • Both: many businesses register the .ca and the .com and forward one to the other, so no one else can take the matching name. At WHC, a .com cost C$15.49 for the first year and C$19.99 a year to renew in September 2026.

What a .ca domain costs

CIRA sets a wholesale price and does not sell domains to the public. In its words, the wholesale price "for .CA, it's $10.50 (CAD)." Every registrar pays that and adds its own margin, and many discount the first year.

RegistrarFirst yearRenewalThree yearsCurrencyBased in
CanSpace$11.99$12.99/yr$37.97CADCanada
Web Hosting Canada (WHC)$10.99$14.99/yr$40.97CADMontreal
Rebel$9.99 or $11.99 (see note)Not shown on the pages we readn/aCADOttawa
Namecheap$11.98$14.98/yr$41.94USDUnited States
Hover$16.99$16.99/yr$50.97USDToronto (Tucows)
HostPapa (hostpapa.ca)$19.99$25.99/yr$71.97CADBurlington, Ont.

Prices checked September 30, 2026, before sales tax. Three-year totals are the first year plus two renewals; WHC lists the same C$40.97 as its own three-year price. Rebel showed $9.99 on one page and $11.99 "first year" on another the same day. Hover lists one .ca price for registrations, renewals and transfers. Namecheap's .ca first-year price is labelled a limited-time offer.

Three things the table does not show:

  • Shopify, Squarespace, and Cloudflare also sell .ca domains, but none published a .ca price we could read. Shopify's help centre says domains "typically start at $9 USD/year" and shows the exact price in your admin. Cloudflare says it charges the registry's wholesale price with no markup.
  • Some hosting plans include a domain for free in the first year. That saving counts most if you wanted that host anyway, and the domain renews at the normal price.
  • US-dollar prices change with the exchange rate, and your card may add a foreign transaction fee.

Where to register

For most Canadian small businesses, the choice comes down to what else you need from the company.

Cheapest over time: CanSpace

CanSpace had the lowest three-year cost in our check, because its renewal price (CAD $12.99) is only a dollar above its first-year price. It says privacy protection "is included free of charge for .ca domains," along with free domain forwarding and DNS. Email needs a hosting plan. We have no affiliate relationship with CanSpace.

Domain plus Canadian hosting: Web Hosting Canada

WHC is a Montreal company, in business since 2003, that says it is accredited by both CIRA and ICANN and has servers on Canada's east and west coasts. Its .ca costs C$10.99 for the first year and C$14.99 a year to renew. The .ca page lists domain forwarding, email forwarding, and a DNS manager, and its domain search page promises "free privacy always." It lists 24/7 support, and its site is in English and French.

WHC makes the most sense if you also want Canadian hosting or email from the same company. Its entry web hosting plan (GO) was C$3.89/month on a three-year term, with one email account and an SSL certificate included. The PRO plan, at C$3.92/month on the same term, adds a free domain (checked September 2026). Those are introductory prices, so check the renewal price before you commit. You do not need WHC's paid SSL certificates for an ordinary small business site, because its hosting plans include one.

See Web Hosting Canada's .ca prices (affiliate link, opens NorthVetted redirect)

Keep it with your site builder: Shopify or Squarespace

If your store or site runs on Shopify or Squarespace, buying the domain there puts billing and DNS setup in one place. Squarespace says domain privacy is free on domains it registers. Check the exact .ca renewal price in your account before you buy, since neither company published one we could read.

How to register a .ca, step by step

  1. Search the name at the registrar you picked. Try the plain spelling first; if you want French accented versions, see below.
  2. Choose the term. CIRA allows 1 to 10 years. Longer terms lock in today's renewal price at some registrars, but check the multi-year price rather than assuming a discount.
  3. Pick your registrant category. Individual (citizen or permanent resident) for a sole proprietor; corporation for an incorporated business.
  4. Enter the registrant name exactly. For a corporation, use its legal name, not a nickname or trade name.
  5. Accept the CIRA Registrant Agreement. Registrars present it at checkout.
  6. Turn on auto-renew and keep the account email one you check.
  7. Point the domain at your site and email. Your website host or email provider gives you the DNS records to add.

WHOIS privacy: what you get for free

WHOIS is the public lookup of who owns a domain. For .ca, CIRA says: "if you select an 'individual' category when you register (for example, a Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident), you automatically benefit from free privacy protection in WHOIS." A lookup then shows that the registration is privacy protected instead of your name and contact details.

For business registrants, CIRA says privacy "may be offered by your registrar, either included in the domain price or for an extra fee." CanSpace, WHC, and Namecheap all say they include it free, and Rebel includes one free year. If you register as an individual and a registrar offers you a paid .ca privacy add-on, you already have that protection.

Renewals and expiry

Under CIRA's General Registration Rules:

  • At expiry, the registry renews the domain for a year automatically. Your registrar then has a 45-day window to delete it, which it does if you do not pay.
  • After deletion, there is a 30-day redemption period. You can still recover the domain, and CIRA restores it as of its original expiry date. Registrars usually charge for this: WHC lists a C$50 redemption cost.
  • After that, the domain goes on CIRA's To Be Released list, where anyone can register it.

Registrars set their own timelines inside those rules. WHC, for example, lists a 40-day grace period and a 30-day redemption period. Auto-renew and a current payment card are the simplest protection.

Transferring a .ca to another registrar

You can move a .ca at any time once 60 days have passed since it was registered or last changed registrar. Ask your current registrar for the authorization code; CIRA's rules say it must provide it within five calendar days and remove any registrar locks. The new registrar submits the transfer, and CIRA says it happens "immediately with no pending period." Many registrars add a year to the expiry date when you transfer, so it doubles as a renewal.

French accented domains

The .ca supports these accented characters: é, ë, ê, è, â, à, æ, ô, œ, ù, û, ü, ç, î, ï, and ÿ. Names can be 2 to 63 characters, using letters, numbers, and hyphens (not at the start or end).

CIRA treats accented versions of the same name as one "administrative bundle." Once you register one version, such as montreal-cafe.ca, the accented variants such as montréal-café.ca are reserved for you and no one else can register them. They are reserved, not registered, so if you want the accented version to work as a web address, register it too.

If someone else registered your name

If a .ca matching your trademark was registered in bad faith, CIRA's Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (CDRP) offers an arbitration process outside the courts. You must show the domain is confusingly similar to a mark you had rights in, that the registrant has no legitimate interest in it, and that it was registered in bad faith. The two approved providers are the Canadian International Internet Dispute Resolution Centre and Resolution Canada, and each sets its own fees. Talk to a lawyer about whether your case fits before you file.

If the name was simply registered first by someone with a legitimate use, the CDRP does not apply. Your options are a different name, a different extension, or an offer to buy it.

Common mistakes

  • Choosing on first-year price. HostPapa's Canadian site costs CAD $19.99 for the first year and CAD $25.99 a year after that. Compare three-year totals.
  • Registering a corporation's domain in the owner's personal name, or the reverse. Match the registrant to who owns the business.
  • Paying for .ca privacy as an individual. CIRA provides it free.
  • Letting it expire. Redemption fees apply, and after the redemption period the name is public.
  • Buying paid SSL for a basic site. Hosts and site builders commonly include a certificate; check before you add one.
  • Planning a transfer in the first 60 days. CIRA does not allow a change of registrar in that window.

Frequently asked questions

Can anyone register a .ca domain?

No. CIRA's Canadian Presence Requirements limit .ca domains to Canadian citizens and permanent residents, corporations formed under Canadian federal or provincial law, registered partnerships, and a list of other Canadian bodies such as trusts, associations, and governments. A non-Canadian can register a .ca only for the exact word component of a trademark registered in Canada.

How much does a .ca domain cost?

CIRA's wholesale price is CAD $10.50 a year, and registrars add their own margin. In September 2026 we found first-year prices from CAD $10.99 (Web Hosting Canada) to CAD $19.99 (HostPapa's Canadian site), and renewals from CAD $12.99 (CanSpace) to CAD $25.99 (HostPapa). Compare the renewal price, not just the first year.

Do I need to pay for WHOIS privacy on a .ca?

Not if you register as an individual. CIRA says individual registrants, such as a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, automatically get free privacy protection in WHOIS. If you register as a business, such as a corporation, privacy depends on your registrar, and some include it free.

Should my business use .ca or .com?

If most of your customers are in Canada, a .ca is a sensible default. Google says country-code domains are a strong signal that a site is intended for a certain country. If you sell mainly to customers outside Canada, a .com avoids that country signal. Many Canadian businesses register both and point one at the other.

How long can I register a .ca for?

From 1 to 10 years at a time, under CIRA's registration rules. You can renew at any time, as long as the total registration period does not go past 10 years.

What happens if my .ca domain expires?

Under CIRA's rules, an expired .ca is automatically renewed for a year at the registry, and your registrar has 45 days to delete it. After deletion, there is a 30-day redemption period in which you can still recover it. If you do not, it goes on CIRA's To Be Released list and anyone can register it. Registrars often charge a fee to redeem, for example CAD $50 at Web Hosting Canada.

Can I transfer a .ca to another registrar?

Yes, once 60 days have passed since the domain was registered or last changed registrar. You get an authorization code from your current registrar, which CIRA's rules say it must provide within five calendar days, and give it to the new registrar.

Sources