How we build our lists
A firm is on one of our lists only if we can show three things: it is one business, it is open now, and it does the work the list is about. Firms we find but can’t prove are kept off the list and are not charged for.
1. We find every firm we can
We search Google Maps across every town in the province, read trade association and licence lists, and check public registers and government contract records. Finding a firm doesn’t put it on the list. It only makes it a candidate.
2. We prove it is open now
Each firm needs one dated record from a source we have tested for that province. The sources we accept:
- A provincial business registry showing the firm Active, in provinces that make firms renew every year: Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, plus federal companies.
- Ontario’s business registry, with an annual return filed in the last 24 months. Ontario doesn’t remove firms that stop filing, so an Active status there proves nothing on its own.
- A valid workers’ compensation certificate or account.
- A Google review in the last 24 months, on a listing whose category matches the trade.
- A public contract or grant won in the last 24 months, where the firm’s name is unique in the province.
- A current licence or membership list whose holders must be operating.
What we don’t accept as proof: a website that still loads, a recently updated website, a Google listing with no recent reviews, an email address that still works, or a bought business list.
When Google marks a firm “permanently closed”, we leave it out unless another source proves it is open. Google’s closed flag is often wrong.
3. We confirm it does the work
The firm’s licence, its Google category, its own website or its registry entry has to show the trade. We don’t rely on industry codes from bought lists, directory categories or the words in a firm’s name. Those put plenty of the wrong firms on other sellers’ lists.
4. We fill in the details and date them
Owner names from the provincial registry, founding year, size, revenue range, public contracts and grants, and contact details. Emails are included only if a mailbox check found them deliverable, and the file says when.
5. We check the count against Statistics Canada
Every list shows our count beside StatCan’s count for the same industry and province, so you can see how complete it is.
See the lists
The first editions are being built now.