What is a Trade Name?
A Trade name, also known as an operating name, is the name you use to conduct your business and is what appears on your storefront. It's how people recognize and refer to your business. Your trade name can be identical to your corporate name. If you wish to operate under a different name than your legal business name, you must register it as a trade name. This registration occurs at the provincial or territorial level and is separate from the process of incorporation.
Incorporation is a one-time process where your business becomes a legal entity. However, after incorporating, you can register multiple trade names to operate in different jurisdictions or under different business lines. For instance, if your corporation is named "David Immigration Services Inc." and you want to start a hair salon, you don't need to create a new corporation. Instead, you can register a trade name like "David Hair Salon" under your existing corporation.
Many business owners choose to federally register a numbered corporation name and then register various trade names at the provincial or territorial level to operate different aspects of their business