Canadian Franchise
Canadian Franchise
First of all, it is important to understand the various provincial legislation that surround opening franchises in Canada. As of now, only three out of the ten provinces have franchise disclosure laws: Ontario’s Arthur Wishart Act (2000), Alberta’s Franchises Act (1995), and Prince Edward Island’s Franchises Act (2006). There is pending franchise legislation in New Brunswick.
What that means is that in those three provinces, franchisors are legally required to provide prospective franchisees such as yourself with all of the information relevant to the company that you would need in order to make your informed buying decision. So, in all of Ontario, Alberta, and Prince Edward Island, you are legally entitled to obtain not only all of the general information about your prospective franchisor, but also all of its financial information and other such things as litigation cases, at least 14 days before you make any arrangements. In the other seven provinces, no such guarantee is provided.
If the franchisor does not disclose the information to you within the proper time, or if the disclosure document does not contain the required information, you have the right to cancel any agreements that were made within certain time restrictions. You will then have the right to get a refund for any money you might have given the franchisor, who will also be required to purchase back from you any inventory or equipment you bought from them. However, when you are looking at establishing a Canadian franchise, there are also a number of non-franchise related federal laws that you need to be aware of.
Federal legislation that will affect your franchise in Canada include the Competition Act, which deals with price fixing, and the Consumer Packaging and Labeling Act. The North American Free Trade Agreement would also be of particular importance for an American-based franchisor when it comes to such things as sending training personnel to its Canadian outlets and any restrictions on those business visits.
This is by no means a complete outline of all the laws you will come into contact with when establishing a franchise outlet in Canada. You need to also be aware of the unique context of doing business in Quebec. But, what I hope to have accomplished here is to alert you to the importance of understanding the differing provincial and federal regulations of opening a franchise.
Don’t let the complex nature of franchise legislation scare you aware though; opening a Canadian franchise can be a lucrative and personally satisfying venture. Now, it’s just the weather that you need to come to grips with!
Canadian Franchise - To learn more about this author, visit Cynthia Gleeson's Website.
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You might think that opening a Subway franchise in Canada would be the same as in the U.S., but I’m afraid I have to be the bearer of bad news: It’s not! It’s not even the same from province to province. For those of you who are looking to the Great White North to invest, you need to be aware of the different laws and processes in place before you can be on your merry Canadian franchise way.
First of all, it is important to understand the various provincial legislation that surround opening franchises in Canada. As of now, only three out of the ten provinces have franchise disclosure laws: Ontario’s Arthur Wishart Act (2000), Alberta’s Franchises Act (1995), and Prince Edward Island’s Franchises Act (2006). There is pending franchise legislation in New Brunswick.
What that means is that in those three provinces, franchisors are legally required to provide prospective franchisees such as yourself with all of the information relevant to the company that you would need in order to make your informed buying decision. So, in all of Ontario, Alberta, and Prince Edward Island, you are legally entitled to obtain not only all of the general information about your prospective franchisor, but also all of its financial information and other such things as litigation cases, at least 14 days before you make any arrangements. In the other seven provinces, no such guarantee is provided.
If the franchisor does not disclose the information to you within the proper time, or if the disclosure document does not contain the required information, you have the right to cancel any agreements that were made within certain time restrictions. You will then have the right to get a refund for any money you might have given the franchisor, who will also be required to purchase back from you any inventory or equipment you bought from them. However, when you are looking at establishing a Canadian franchise, there are also a number of non-franchise related federal laws that you need to be aware of.
Federal legislation that will affect your franchise in Canada include the Competition Act, which deals with price fixing, and the Consumer Packaging and Labeling Act. The North American Free Trade Agreement would also be of particular importance for an American-based franchisor when it comes to such things as sending training personnel to its Canadian outlets and any restrictions on those business visits.
This is by no means a complete outline of all the laws you will come into contact with when establishing a franchise outlet in Canada. You need to also be aware of the unique context of doing business in Quebec. But, what I hope to have accomplished here is to alert you to the importance of understanding the differing provincial and federal regulations of opening a franchise.
Don’t let the complex nature of franchise legislation scare you aware though; opening a Canadian franchise can be a lucrative and personally satisfying venture. Now, it’s just the weather that you need to come to grips with!
Canadian Franchise - To learn more about this author, visit Cynthia Gleeson's Website.
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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