Why a .ca domain is worth having
A .ca address tells visitors, at a glance, that they are dealing with a Canadian business. That matters more than it sounds: Canadians tend to trust a .ca when they are deciding who to buy from, and search engines treat the country code as a strong hint that your site is aimed at people in Canada. A .ca is also usually easier to get than a .com — many short, sensible names that disappeared from .com years ago are still available in .ca.
It does not have to be one or the other. Many businesses register both the .ca and the .com of their name, use one as the main address, and point the other at it, so no one else can grab it.
Who is allowed to register a .ca
Unlike .com, a .ca domain comes with rules. The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA), the non-profit that runs .ca, requires every registrant to meet its Canadian Presence Requirements. In plain terms, you qualify if you are:
- A Canadian citizen or permanent resident who is of the age of majority and ordinarily resident in Canada (CIRA defines that as living here more than 183 days in a twelve-month period);
- A corporation formed under Canadian federal, provincial or territorial law, or a registered Canadian partnership or trust;
- A Canadian school, library, museum, hospital, trade union or registered political party;
- A Canadian government body, an Indian band, or Aboriginal peoples; or
- The owner of a registered Canadian trademark — but only for a domain that exactly matches the word part of that trademark.
Register the domain in the name of the person or business that actually owns it. If your company is incorporated, the corporation should be the registrant, not you personally and not your web designer.
Where you buy it
You do not buy a .ca from CIRA directly. You register it through a CIRA-certified registrar, which is usually your web host or a domain company. Prices are set by each registrar, not by CIRA, so they vary.
For example, WHC, which describes itself as CIRA-accredited, listed a .ca at C$7.99 for the first year and C$14.99 a year on renewal when I checked in October 2026, with domain privacy included. Many hosts also include a free domain for the first year with an annual hosting plan — useful, as long as you budget for the renewal from year two.
What it really costs
Look at three numbers before you register anywhere: the first-year price, the renewal price, and the transfer price if you ever want to move. A cheap first year that renews at twice the price is not a bargain. Registering for several years at once can lock in a rate and protect you from forgetting a renewal — which is how businesses lose domains they have used for a decade.
Your privacy
When an individual registers a .ca, CIRA’s public lookup does not show their personal contact details by default, which is one of the advantages of .ca over many other extensions. Registrars may offer additional privacy or protection services on top. Businesses are generally treated differently from individuals, so if you register as a company, check what your registrar will display.
Mistakes to avoid
- Letting someone else own it. If a web designer or an employee registers the domain in their own name, it is legally theirs. Make sure the registrant is you or your business, and that you have the login.
- Missing a renewal. Turn on auto-renew, keep the card on file current, and make sure renewal reminders go to an email address someone actually reads.
- Losing access to the email on the account. If the account email is an old address you can no longer get into, recovering the domain becomes very difficult.
- Forgetting the .com. If your .com is available and cheap, consider registering it too and pointing it at your .ca.
Next steps
Once your domain is registered, it needs hosting to show a website and DNS records to make email work reliably. My guides on choosing a Canadian web host and setting up SPF, DKIM and DMARC cover the next two steps.