Starting out in Alberta
Everything on this page genuinely applies in Alberta. BC permit guides and Ontario/Toronto-specific guides are left out, so what remains is directly useful. Start with the four Alberta-specific rules that trip up new businesses, then browse the guides and tools.
Alberta is the only province with no provincial sales tax. If you sell taxable goods or services, the 5% federal GST is the only tax on your invoices. No PST registration, no provincial return to file. Once you cross the $30,000 small-supplier threshold, you register with the CRA and remit GST like everyone else, but the bookkeeping stays simpler than in any other province.
Source: Government of Alberta: Budget 2022 Highlights (open.alberta.ca)
If you operate under any name other than your own exact personal name, you must file a Declaration of Trade Name with the Alberta Corporate Registry through an authorized service provider (the local registry agent offices). The filing costs $40 to $60 depending on the agent. It puts your business name on the public record so customers can find out who is behind it. Registration does not give you exclusive rights to the name the way a trademark would.
Source: Town of Taber: Guide for New Alberta Businesses (taber.ca)
If your industry is one where workers' compensation coverage is mandatory, you must open a WCB-Alberta account within 15 days of hiring your first worker. Full-time, part-time, casual, and contract workers all count. Sort this out the week the hire starts, not after an incident. Sole proprietors without employees are not required to carry coverage, but can buy personal coverage from WCB voluntarily.
Source: WCB-Alberta: worker coverage
Alberta designates certain trades as compulsory certification, meaning only registered apprentices, certified journeypersons, or holders of a recognized trade certificate may perform the restricted work. Electrician is one of the strictest: the apprenticeship runs 72 months with 9,180 hours of on-the-job training plus theory exams, and the AIT application costs $150. Experienced workers without an apprenticeship can challenge the exams through the Trades Qualifier Program instead.
Five questions, no signup: find out whether to start as a sole proprietor or talk to an accountant about incorporating in Canada.
Try it → Free toolAdd up your startup costs for a plumbing business in Canada: registration, insurance, van, tools, and more. Free, no signup.
Try it → Free toolThirteen steps from apprentice to first paid job: licensing, registration, insurance, and pricing. Printable and tick-offable. Free, no signup.
Try it → Free toolMonth-by-month cash in and out for your first year: one-time startup costs, monthly expenses, and when paying work starts. Free, no signup.
Try it →Everything below is genuinely applicable in Alberta — province-specific guides from elsewhere are left out.
The full path: entrance requirements (English 20-2, Math 20-3, Science 10), finding a sponsor, 4 periods and 6,120 hours, classroom training, costs, apprentice wage rates, and the journeyperson exam.
Canada-specific job hunting guide: Job Bank, Indeed and LinkedIn, settlement employment services, resume conventions, and how to avoid the usual traps.
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From apprenticeship to journeyperson to business owner: licensing in BC, Ontario and Alberta, the Red Seal, registering your business, and insurance.