Corporations Canada API vs provincial registries — what does each cover?

Corporations Canada — only federally incorporated companies (Canada Business Corporations Act). Provincial companies register in provincial registries: ONBIS (Ontario), BC Registry Services, Alberta Corporate Registry, Quebec REQ — each with its own API with different terms and costs. For a complete Canadian corporate database — federal + provincial source integration is needed.

MLS data — can you scrape Realtor.ca?

Direct scraping of Realtor.ca violates CREA Terms of Service and may result in legal action — we do not recommend it. Legal alternatives: CREA DDF (Data Distribution Facility) — the official feed for licensed Real Estate agents and boards. CMHC Housing Statistics API — aggregate price and volume data (free). Provincial Real Estate Boards often have their own IDX programs.

PIPEDA — how does it affect parsing Canadian data?

PIPEDA regulates personal information — names, addresses, contacts of individuals. Corporate data from public registries (Corporations Canada, SEDAR+) — not personal information for registered directors as officers (public role). But parsing private individuals' contacts, email addresses, phone numbers without consent — violates PIPEDA. We develop systems within applicable legislation.

Data Parsing in Canada

We parse and aggregate data from Canadian sources. Corporations Canada API (federal registry), SEDAR+ for public companies, Statistics Canada open data, MLS/CREA data — data collection for the Canadian market.

Canada offers a rich open data ecosystem: Corporations Canada — the federal company registry with an API, Statistics Canada (StatCan) — the official source of demographic and economic data, open.canada.ca — the open government data portal. SEDAR+ (System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval) — the mandatory public database for Canadian public companies, equivalent to the American SEC EDGAR.

We aggregate Canadian data from official and commercial sources: Corporations Canada REST API for the corporate registry, Statistics Canada API for market analytics, SEDAR+ for public company data, Canadian e-commerce market price aggregators — all in compliance with PIPEDA and robots.txt.

Data parsing features for Canada

Corporations Canada API
Federal company registry under the Canada Business Corporations Act: search by name, BN (Business Number), corporate status, directors info. Official REST API (ic.gc.ca/app/scr/cc/CorporationsCanada). Free access for basic information. Provincial registries (ONBIS for Ontario, BC Registry, Alberta Corporate Registry) — separate APIs with varying costs.
SEDAR+ for public companies
SEDAR+ (sedarplus.ca) — the Canadian equivalent of SEC EDGAR: mandatory filing of financial reports, MD&A, prospectuses for public companies (TSX, TSX-V). Replaced SEDAR in 2023. Data is public, bulk download via the official Data Download service. Parsing for investment analysis, due diligence, competitive intelligence.
Statistics Canada (StatCan) API
Statistics Canada (www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en) provides an official REST API: census data, economic indicators, retail trade statistics, housing starts by province, labour market data. Free API with rate limits. Data in English and French. Geospatial data via Statistics Canada GeoSearch API.
MLS/CREA and Canadian real estate
CREA (Canadian Real Estate Association) MLS System — the official listings database. Access to MLS data via IDX feed requires CREA membership or partnership — direct scraping is prohibited by Terms of Service. Realtor.ca — the official CREA portal. Alternatives: provincial Real Estate Board data, CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation) housing statistics API (free).

Healthcare
CIHI (Canadian Institute for Health Information) open datasets. Provincial health authority data. Pharmacare and drug pricing databases.
Investment and fintech
SEDAR+ financial reports parsing for investment analysis. TSX/TSX-V company data. OSFI regulatory filings.
Real estate
CMHC housing starts and prices API. Provincial land registry data. Toronto/Vancouver market analytics without direct MLS access.
Retail and e-commerce
Canadian e-commerce prices: Amazon.ca, Best Buy Canada, Canadian Tire price monitoring. PriceMe.ca and GetPrice Canada price comparison.
Immigration and legal
IRCC processing times API (open). RCIC consultant registry. CANLII (Canadian Legal Information Institute) — free access to Canadian case law via API.
Research and analytics
Statistics Canada census and surveys. Federal and provincial open data portals. Environment and Climate Change Canada weather data API.