The entity in between
TransfersThis is the one mechanic on the page that is genuinely scale-free. The Ontario equivalent is the holdco and family-trust layer over an operating company. But be honest about the cost: a holdco adds annual compliance expense and only earns its keep when there is retained cash to move out of the opco, a creditor-proofing need, or a succession plan in view.
What makes it worth asking about now rather than at an exit: QSBC status for the lifetime capital gains exemption depends on asset tests measured over the 24 months before a sale. The structure has to exist long before it is needed, and accumulated cash or passive investments sitting in the operating company are the usual thing that breaks it.
THIS WEEK → One email to your accountant: does the operating company currently meet the QSBC asset tests — broadly, more than 50% of assets used in an active business throughout the preceding 24 months, and 90% at the time of a sale — and is retained cash or investment holding putting that at risk? A yes/no answer sets up every other structural decision.