Small Business Legal Documents for Canada
48+ business legal templates in English or French. Pick a document, fill in your details, and get a professional result in minutes — not weeks.
No account needed to browse or fill in a form. Try the Business Proposal free or read a full sample document.
Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
Use a mutual NDA when both sides will trade sensitive details, such as two companies exploring a partnership, a merger chat or a joint bid. It spells out what counts as confidential, what each party may do with it, and how long the duty of secrecy lasts after talks end.
Power of Attorney
Names someone you trust to sign, bank or manage property for you if you are travelling, ill or losing capacity. You choose whether the authority starts now or only on incapacity, and whether it covers finances, personal care, or both. Each province has its own witnessing rules, which the draft flags for you.
Business Proposal
Turns a client conversation into a clear written offer: the problem you are solving, the work you will deliver, the timeline and the price. Send it before a contract to win the job and set expectations. Free to generate, no account needed.
Service Agreement
The everyday contract for selling your time or expertise, whether you run a cleaning company, an agency or a consulting practice. It pins down the deliverables, payment schedule, change requests, ownership of work product and what happens if either side walks away, so scope creep and late invoices have a paper trail.
Divorce Agreement
A separation agreement records how a couple will divide property and debts, handle spousal and child support, and share parenting time once they live apart. Having it in writing can keep a separation out of court. Each spouse should get independent legal advice before signing for it to hold up.
Financial Agreement
A flexible contract for money changing hands between people or businesses outside a bank, such as an investment, a revenue share or a structured repayment plan. It records who contributes what, the expected return, reporting obligations and the remedies if payments stop.
Employment Contract
Put the terms of a new hire in writing before the first day: job title, pay, hours, vacation, probation and benefits. A well-drafted termination clause that meets your province's employment standards can save thousands in severance disputes later. Suits full-time and part-time staff.
Residential Lease Agreement
Lets a landlord rent out a house, apartment or basement suite with the rent, deposit, utilities, pets, maintenance duties and notice periods stated up front. Use it in provinces without a mandatory government lease form. In Ontario, use the RTA standard lease instead.
Last Will and Testament
Decide who receives your property, who serves as executor and who becomes guardian of your minor children. Without a will, provincial intestacy rules decide for you, often in ways families do not expect. The draft explains the signing and witnessing steps that make it valid.
Independent Contractor Agreement
Bring on a freelancer or consultant while making it clear they run their own business and are not an employee. The agreement covers deliverables, invoicing, tools, intellectual property and confidentiality. It also records the facts the CRA looks at when deciding whether someone is truly self-employed.
Promissory Note
A short, signed promise to repay a loan, with the amount, interest rate, payment dates and what happens on a missed payment. Ideal for lending money to a friend, relative or small business when you want something firmer than a handshake but simpler than a full loan agreement.
Partnership Agreement
Two or more people running a business together without incorporating should agree in advance on capital contributions, profit splits, decision-making and how a partner can leave. Without one, provincial partnership law fills the gaps and makes every partner personally liable for the others' business debts.
Privacy Policy
Any Canadian website or app that collects names, emails or payment details needs to explain what it gathers, why, who it shares it with and how people can access or delete their data. This policy is built around PIPEDA's ten fair-information principles and covers cookies and analytics.
Website Terms of Service
Sets the house rules for your website or app: acceptable use, account suspension, payment and refund terms, limits on your liability, and which province's courts handle disputes. Publish it before launch so users agree to it when they sign up or check out.
Prenuptial Agreement
Couples planning to marry use a marriage contract to decide in advance how a business, inheritance or family property will be treated if the marriage ends. It can also address support. Full financial disclosure and independent legal advice for both partners are key to making it enforceable.
Commercial Lease Agreement
For renting a storefront, office or warehouse: base rent, additional rent and CAM charges, permitted use, renewal options, leasehold improvements and who repairs what. Commercial tenants get far less statutory protection than residential tenants, so the details in this lease matter.
Construction Contract
Covers a renovation, addition or new build between a homeowner or owner and a contractor. It sets out the scope, price, progress payments, holdbacks under provincial lien rules, change orders, permits, insurance and the workmanship warranty, so a dispute midway through the job has clear answers.
Pet Custody Agreement
In most provinces the law treats pets as property, so a written agreement is the best way for separating partners or roommates to decide who keeps the animal. It covers living arrangements, visits, vet bills and food costs, and who decides on medical care.
DJ/Entertainment Contract
Book a DJ, band or performer for a wedding, party or corporate event with the date, set times, deposit, equipment, overtime rates and cancellation policy agreed in writing. Works for performers sending contracts to clients and for event planners hiring talent.
Ontario Standard Lease (RTA Compliant)
Ontario landlords must use the government's Standard Form of Lease for most residential tenancies, or tenants can demand one and withhold rent. This document helps you complete it correctly, including rent, deposits, utilities and permitted additional terms that comply with the Residential Tenancies Act.
BC Employment Agreement (ESA Compliant)
An employment contract built specifically for British Columbia employers, reflecting the BC Employment Standards Act's rules on overtime, statutory holidays, vacation pay, paid sick days and compensation for length of service. Use it instead of the general contract when the employee works in BC.
Quebec Civil Union Contract
Quebec is the only province with a formal civil union regime under its Civil Code. This contract lets partners entering a civil union set out their property regime, how the family patrimony is handled and their mutual rights. A notary must normally execute it, and the draft prepares the terms for that step.
Termination for Cause Letter
Formally notifies an employee that they are being dismissed for serious misconduct, such as theft, harassment or repeated policy breaches after warnings. The letter records the facts relied on, the final pay, accrued vacation and when benefits end. Just cause is a high legal bar in Canada, so review it with a lawyer before delivery.
Canadian Unilateral NDA (Employee / Contractor)
A one-way confidentiality agreement for when only your business shares secrets, typically with a new employee, contractor or vendor. It includes fresh consideration so it is enforceable mid-employment, carve-outs for whistleblowing and legally required disclosures, and reasonable time limits courts are willing to uphold.
Articles of Incorporation
The founding document filed with the government to create a corporation, either federally or in your province. It sets the corporate name, registered office, share classes, number of directors and any limits on business activities. In Canada a corporation plays the role a U.S. LLC would, including as a holding company.
Corporate Bylaws
The internal rulebook of your corporation: how directors are elected, how meetings are called, what counts as a quorum, who signs cheques and contracts, and how shares are issued. The first directors adopt bylaws right after incorporation, and banks often ask to see them.
Organizational Resolutions (First Directors)
After incorporating, a company has to be 'switched on' with formal resolutions that adopt bylaws, appoint officers, issue the first shares, pick a fiscal year-end and authorize a bank account. This package records those first decisions in the minute book, where accountants and lenders expect to find them.
Shareholder Agreement
Owners of a private corporation use this to agree on who sits on the board, how big decisions are approved, what happens if a shareholder wants out, dies or divorces, and how shares are valued on a sale. It heads off the deadlocks that end many co-founded businesses.
Family Trust (Inter Vivos) Deed
An inter vivos discretionary trust that holds investments or shares of a family business for a group of beneficiaries, often a spouse and children. It is used for estate freezes, asset protection and succession planning. Tax rules such as attribution and the 21-year deemed disposition apply, so plan it with an accountant.
Henson Trust (Absolute Discretionary)
Families use a Henson trust to leave money to a loved one with a disability without disqualifying them from provincial support such as ODSP or AISH. Because the trustee has complete discretion over payments, the assets are not counted as the beneficiary's. It can be set up now or through a will.
Testamentary Trust
A trust written into your will that only takes effect when you die. It lets you hold an inheritance for young children until a chosen age, provide for a spouse while protecting the capital for your kids, or shield a beneficiary who struggles with money. Your trustee follows the instructions you set.
Land Trust (Bare / Nominee Trust)
A bare or nominee trust in which one person or company holds registered title to real estate while someone else is the true owner. Investors use it for privacy, joint purchases or to hold property through a corporation. Note the CRA's trust reporting rules and any land transfer tax consequences.
Irrevocable Trust Deed
Once you transfer assets into an irrevocable trust you cannot take them back or change the terms. That loss of control is the point: it can protect assets from future creditors and lock in tax and estate planning. Make sure you will not need the assets before you sign.
Revocable (Living) Trust Deed
A living trust you can change or cancel at any time while you are alive, often used to organize how assets are managed if you become unable to act and to reduce assets passing through probate. Canadian tax rules attribute the trust's income back to you, so it is mainly a management tool, not a tax saver.
Intellectual Property Assignment and Licence Agreement
Decide who owns the code, logo, photos, writing or invention a contractor or partner creates, or give someone permission to use your IP on set terms. Copyright in Canada must be assigned in writing, and moral rights can only be waived, not transferred. This agreement handles both situations.
B2B Goods Sale / Supply Agreement
For a business that regularly buys or sells goods from another business, such as a café and its roaster or a retailer and its manufacturer. It covers product specs, purchase orders, delivery, inspection and rejection, warranties, pricing changes and payment terms, so recurring orders run on agreed rules.
General Release and Settlement Agreement
Ends a specific disagreement, such as an unpaid invoice, a failed project or a workplace complaint, by recording what each side pays or does in exchange for dropping its claims. The release is tied to that dispute, which makes it more likely to be upheld than a vague catch-all waiver.
Small-Business Asset Purchase Agreement
Buying or selling a small business by transferring its equipment, inventory, customer list, goodwill and selected contracts rather than the company itself. The agreement allocates the price, lists excluded liabilities and flags issues like GST/HST, employees and leases that need an accountant's and lawyer's review.
Private Company Share Purchase Agreement
Buying or selling a private corporation by transferring its shares, so the company and all its history, including debts, change hands. The agreement captures the price, the seller's representations about the business, conditions before closing and indemnities if something undisclosed surfaces later.
Residential Agreement of Purchase and Sale
Drafts an offer to buy a house, condo or townhouse: price, deposit, closing date, included chattels and conditions such as financing or inspection. Terminology follows your province's conventions. Have a real estate lawyer or notary review it before signing, because a signed offer is a binding contract.
Real Estate Co-Ownership Agreement
Friends, relatives or investors buying a property together should agree on each person's share, who pays the mortgage and repairs, how decisions are made and how one owner can sell or be bought out. This agreement sits alongside the title and mortgage, filling the gaps they leave.
Property Management Agreement
Hire a manager to find tenants, collect rent, arrange repairs and handle complaints for your rental property. The agreement sets the services, management fee, spending limits, trust handling of rents and deposits, and reporting. Many provinces require property managers to be licensed, which the draft reminds you to check.
Lease Assignment, Sublet and Landlord Consent Agreement
When a tenant needs to move out early or share space, this records either an assignment (the new tenant takes over the lease) or a sublet (the original tenant stays responsible), along with the landlord's written consent. It works for both apartments and commercial premises.
Short-Term / Vacation Rental Agreement
For hosts renting a cottage, condo or suite by the night or week, with check-in times, rates, security deposit, occupancy limits, house rules and a cancellation policy. Many cities now require short-term rental licences and condo boards may ban them, so the draft prompts you to confirm local rules.
Residential Tenancy Condition Inspection Report
A room-by-room checklist completed with the tenant at move-in and again at move-out, noting the condition of walls, floors, appliances and fixtures. It is the best evidence in a deposit dispute, and some provinces, including BC and Alberta, require one.
Commercial Real Estate Purchase and Sale Agreement
For buying an office building, retail plaza, industrial unit or mixed-use property. It allows time for due diligence on environmental reports, zoning, existing leases and building condition, and sets the deposit, conditions and closing adjustments. Expect to negotiate it with the other side's lawyer.
Private Mortgage Loan Agreement / Commitment
Sets the business terms when a private lender finances a property: loan amount, interest rate, term, payment schedule, fees, prepayment and default. It works alongside the registered mortgage or charge, which a lawyer prepares and registers on title, and includes the annual-rate disclosure the federal Interest Act requires.
Real Estate Joint Venture / Investment Agreement
Investors pooling money or expertise for a property flip, rental or development use this to record who contributes cash, credit or labour, how profits and losses are split, who makes day-to-day decisions and how the venture ends. Review the structure with a lawyer and accountant before any money moves.