Money laundering and corporate ownership transparency

Last updated on August 19, 2025

Money launderers use business organizations and other legal entities, such as corporations, to: 

  • Hide their source of illicit funds
  • Obscure their identities
  • Move money anonymously through property ownership, banking, and transactions 

Because of these risks, global standards and financial crime experts recommend the use of publicly accessible beneficial ownership registries to expose and deter criminal activity.

On this page

Timeline of beneficial ownership registries in Canada

 

March 2023 - Québec launches beneficial ownership registry

Québec launched its registry via the Québec Enterprise Register

 

May 2023 - British Columbia develops new legislation to create a beneficial ownership registry

British Columbia and Québec and are the only two provinces with legislation to create registries

 

January 2024 - Canada launches federal beneficial ownership registry

Canada launched a federal registry requiring companies under the Canada Business Corporations Act to disclose beneficial ownership to Corporations Canada. Only about 14.5% of Canadian private companies are federally incorporated. The rest fall under provincial jurisdiction, making provincial registries essential for full transparency

​Actions taken by the B.C. government

Through amendments to the Business Corporations Act, B.C. will:

  • Launch the Transparency Register, a new public registry for beneficial owners of private companies
  • Reduce hidden ownership risks—similar to the Land Owner Transparency Registry, which covers land ownership

As a result of these changes, B.C. private companies will need to:

  • Maintain an internal transparency register (as they already do)
  • File ownership information with the provincial government to be included in the public registry

The B.C. government is working with the federal government and other provinces and territories to build an integrated system of corporate ownership information across Canada.

Learn about the new beneficial ownership registry: Public registry would end hidden ownership in private businesses.