How to Start Things in New Brunswick

Registering a business name costs $112, and renewal is $62

In New Brunswick you register a sole-proprietorship or partnership business name with the Corporate Registry, Service New Brunswick. A new registration costs $112 and a renewal costs $62. Both fees bake in a mandatory notice in the Royal Gazette, New Brunswick's official gazette, so the publication step is neither optional nor extra. File the official business-name form with the Corporate Registry in Fredericton; payment goes to Service New Brunswick by cheque or money order, and the form says plainly not to send cash in the mail.

Source: Service New Brunswick: Registration of Business Name form

New Brunswick still charges 15% HST, unlike Nova Scotia

New Brunswick's combined sales tax is 15%: the 5% federal GST plus a 10% provincial portion, collected as one harmonized tax by the CRA. Nova Scotia cut its provincial portion to 9% in April 2025 (14% total), but New Brunswick stayed at 15%. That means a page that treats all of Atlantic Canada as 15% is now wrong for Nova Scotia, while a page that assumes 14% for New Brunswick is wrong the other way. Register once with the CRA and your New Brunswick receipts show a single HST line.

Source: Tax-Services.ca: GST/HST rates by province, September 2026

WorkSafeNB coverage means registering within 15 days of your first workers

If your business is in an industry with mandatory workers' compensation coverage in New Brunswick, you must register with WorkSafeNB within 15 days of your workers beginning their employment, and you must notify WorkSafeNB within 15 days if you cease or suspend the business. Coverage is tied to headcount: employers usually employing three or more workers fall under the mandatory scheme, and smaller employers can opt in for voluntary coverage. The 15-day clock starts on the first day of work, not when you get around to the paperwork.

Source: WorkSafeNB: Policy 23-100, Employer Registration

Minimum wage is $15.90 an hour, reset every April

New Brunswick's minimum wage is $15.90 an hour, effective April 1, 2026, and it is reset every April 1 based on New Brunswick's consumer price index. The next adjustment lands April 1, 2027. It is the second-lowest rate in the country; only Alberta's $15.00 is lower. After a decade without a public consultation on the rate, the province ran one in fall 2026, so the formula itself could change — watch April announcements before finalizing payroll budgets.

Source: Canadian HR Reporter: minimum wage by province, 2026