Canadian Securities Administrators

Canada is unusual among major economies in having no single national securities regulator. Authority sits with the provinces and territories, each with its own commission.

The CSA is the umbrella through which those regulators coordinate, harmonising rules so that companies do not face thirteen entirely separate regimes.

Canadian founders raise under provincial rules, though CSA harmonisation means the practical requirements are broadly consistent across the country.

The province of the company's head office generally determines its principal regulator, and that choice affects which commission reviews filings.