How do you incorporate a farm, forestry or mining business in Quebec?
To incorporate a farm, forestry or mining business in Quebec, you form a business corporation, then declare the CAE code of your main activity, chosen among 66 codes.
Dairy farm, maple syrup operation, greenhouse, apiary, farm services, fishing, trapping, logging, mine, quarry, sand pit, oil and natural gas, contract drilling: incorporation follows the same steps as for any other business. What is specific to the “Agriculture, forestry and resources” sector is the economic activity code (CAE) you enter in the corporation’s initial declaration.
s. 38LPLE, s. 38If a legal person is registered on the deposit of its constituting instrument in the register, the legal person must file with the registrar, within 60 days after the date of registration, an initial declaration in compliance with the form and content prescribed for a registration declaration. If the initial declaration is filed after that period, the penalty prescribed in section 86 must be paid at the time of the filing.
For the rest of the process:
- the incorporation steps;
- the cost of incorporating;
- the right time to incorporate;
- choosing a legal structure;
- after incorporation, your GST and QST numbers.
Which CAE code fits a farm, forestry or mining business?
Two sectors of the CAE tool hold 66 codes: “Agriculture and farm services”, 41 codes from 0111 to 0339, and “Forestry, mining and resources”, 25 codes from 0411 to 0929.
The codes fall into these groups:
- 0111 to 0129: livestock (cattle, hogs, poultry, sheep and goats, beekeeping, fur-bearing animals);
- 0131 to 0139: field crops (grains, corn, forage crops, tobacco, potatoes);
- 0151 to 0171: fruit, vegetables, greenhouses, nurseries, maple syrup operations and mixed production;
- 0211 to 0233: livestock and crop services, farm management, research;
- 0311 to 0321: fishing, fish farming and fishing services;
- 0331 to 0339: trapping;
- 0411 to 0511: logging and forestry services;
- 0611 to 0619: metal mines (gold, copper, zinc, iron and others);
- 0621 to 0629: non-metallic mineral mines, including peat bogs;
- 0711: oil and natural gas extraction;
- 0811 to 0821: quarries, sand pits and gravel pits;
- 0911 to 0929: contract drilling and extraction services.
s. 2Regulation respecting the application of the Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises, s. 2For the purposes of subparagraphs 7 to 9 of the second paragraph of section 33 of the Act, the classification system for registrants’ activities corresponds to the Classification des activités économiques du Québec published by the Bureau de la statistique du Québec in 1990 and its updates.
Agriculture and farm services: the common codes
Here are 23 of the 41 farm codes, production by production, with the exact labels of the Registraire des entreprises:
Our tool marks three farm codes with an asterisk: 0211 Médecine vétérinaire (veterinary medicine), 0233 Agronomes (agronomists) and 0223 Services de moissonnage, de pressage et de battage (harvesting, baling and threshing services). A code marked * is restricted to members of the relevant professional order; a non-member cannot use it. For 0223, this marking remains to be confirmed: if custom harvesting is your activity, describe it as is in the form.
All 41 codes are in our CAE search tool, filtered on agriculture.
Forestry, mining and resources: the 25 codes
This sector is short enough to show in full. Here are its 25 codes, with the exact labels of the Registraire des entreprises:
None of these 25 codes carries an asterisk: none is restricted to members of a professional order. This says nothing about the permits specific to your activity.
The same codes are in our CAE search tool, filtered on forestry, mining and resources.
Which CAE code should a farm with several productions choose?
Declare first the code of the production that brings in most of your revenue, then the code of your second activity; a mixed or “Other…” code fits when nothing matches exactly.
The law requires you to declare the business’s two main activities, in order of importance, with the code for each. Example: a dairy farm that also sells grain declares 0111 first, then 0131.
s. 33LPLE, s. 33The registration declaration must state ( 1 ) the registrant’s name, domicile and, in the case of a natural person, date of birth as well as, if the registrant was previously registered, the registrant’s Québec business number; ( 2 ) any other name used by the registrant in Québec and by which the registrant is identified, either in carrying on an activity, which includes the operation of an enterprise, or for the purpose of the possession of an immovable real right, other than a prior claim or hypothec, if applicable; and ( 3 ) the registrant’s juridical form; ( 4 ) (subparagraph repealed). (…)
The sector has codes for combined production:
- 0119 — Élevage mixte du bétail et de la volaille (mixed livestock and poultry farming);
- 0159 — Culture mixte des fruits et des légumes (mixed fruit and vegetable growing);
- 0171 — Élevages, grandes cultures et productions horticoles (livestock, field crops and horticultural production).
And “Other…” codes when your production has no label of its own:
- 0129 — Autres élevages (other livestock farming);
- 0139 — Autres grandes cultures (other field crops);
- 0169 — Autres spécialités horticoles (other horticultural specialties);
- 0219 — Autres services relatifs à l'élevage (sauf à l'élevage de la volaille) (other livestock services, except poultry);
- 0229 — Autres services relatifs aux cultures (other crop services);
- 0339 — Autres activités de piégeage (other trapping activities).
Has your production changed? The code is corrected with an updating declaration.
s. 41Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises, s. 41The registrant must update the information required by sections 33 to 35.2 to be contained in the register concerning the registrant by filing an updating declaration within 30 days after the date on which any change occurs, unless a shorter period is prescribed by law. (…)
Which CAE code should you choose between contract and non-contract logging?
The label decides: 0412 covers contract logging, 0411 covers logging that is not done under contract, and 0511 covers forestry services.
If you do both, the rule is the same as for a farm with several productions: the code of the activity that brings in most of your revenue comes first. Example: a business that works mostly under contract and also harvests on its own land declares 0412 first, then 0411.
s. 33LPLE, s. 33The registration declaration must state ( 1 ) the registrant’s name, domicile and, in the case of a natural person, date of birth as well as, if the registrant was previously registered, the registrant’s Québec business number; ( 2 ) any other name used by the registrant in Québec and by which the registrant is identified, either in carrying on an activity, which includes the operation of an enterprise, or for the purpose of the possession of an immovable real right, other than a prior claim or hypothec, if applicable; and ( 3 ) the registrant’s juridical form; ( 4 ) (subparagraph repealed). (…)
Which CAE code fits a drilling or mining services business?
A business that drills or provides extraction services declares a code from 0911 to 0929; one that operates the mine, quarry or well itself declares the code for that operation.
The service and drilling codes:
- 0911 — Forage à forfait de puits de pétrole et de gaz naturel (contract drilling of oil and natural gas wells);
- 0919 — Autres services relatifs à l'extraction du pétrole et du gaz naturel (other oil and natural gas extraction services);
- 0921 — Forage à forfait (sauf pétrole et gaz) (contract drilling, except oil and gas);
- 0929 — Autres services relatifs à l'extraction minière (other mining services).
And “Other…” codes when your resource has no label of its own:
- 0619 — Autres mines de métaux (other metal mines);
- 0629 — Autres mines de minerais non métalliques (sauf le charbon) (other non-metallic mineral mines, except coal).
Start your business online — $497 all-in
Complete online incorporation: articles of incorporation, initial declaration with the REQ and your NEQ — $497 all-in, government fees included.
Which CAE code applies if you process your products or work around forests and mines?
Food and beverage processing, sawmilling, hauling wood, excavation, forestry engineering and geology belong to other sectors; your first code is there if that is your main activity.
A few neighbouring sectors and codes:
- codes 1011 to 1141, food and beverage manufacturing, if processing (cheese dairy, cider house, slaughterhouse) becomes the activity that brings in most of your revenue: see which CAE code applies to making food or beverages;
- 2512 — Industrie des produits de scieries et d'ateliers de rabotage (sauf les bardeaux et les bardeaux fendus) (sawmill and planing mill products, except shingles and shakes), in the Manufacturing sector: see our guide to manufacturing businesses;
- 4565 — Camionnage de produits forestiers (forest products trucking), in the Transportation, storage and communications sector, if hauling wood is your main activity: see which CAE code fits a trucking company;
- 4214 — Travaux d'excavation et de nivellement (excavation and grading work), in the Construction sector: see our guide to incorporating in construction;
- 7757 — Services de géologues, de géophysiciens ou d'hydrogéologues (geologists, geophysicists or hydrogeologists) and 7758 — Bureaux d'ingénieurs forestiers (forestry engineering offices), in the Business services sector: both codes carry
*, restricted to members of the relevant professional order; see our guide to business services.
For public funding, our directory of business grants can be filtered by sector: choose “agriculture” to see the programs aimed at this sector, alongside those open to all.
Frequently asked questions about agriculture, forestry and resources
Does the CAE code act as a permit to operate a farm, a forest or a quarry?
No: the CAE code describes what your business does; it is neither a permit nor an authorization. Permits, registrations and authorizations specific to your production or operation are checked with the relevant body.
Are fishing and trapping part of the agriculture sector?
In our CAE tool, yes: saltwater and freshwater fishing, fish farming, fishing services and trapping (codes 0311 to 0339) are classified in the “Agriculture and farm services” sector.
Does a quarry that also cuts stone keep a quarry code?
It depends on what brings in the most: stone cutting falls under code 3531 Industrie des produits en pierre (stone products industry), in the “Manufacturing” sector. Declare the main activity’s code first, then the other one second.
Does the CAE code limit what my corporation can sell?
No: the code describes your main activities, it does not restrict them; a business corporation may carry on any lawful activity, subject to the limits in its own articles. If a new activity becomes significant, update your activities with an updating declaration.
Does my farm or forestry sole proprietorship keep its CAE code when I incorporate?
The business corporation is a new business: it declares its own activities, with their codes, in its initial declaration. If the activity does not change, you enter the same code as your sole proprietorship’s.
Who can see my business’s CAE code?
Anyone: the enterprise register is public, and your code appears in your corporation’s entry. Clients, suppliers, banks and insurers can look it up; a code that matches your actual activity keeps your file clean.
Who enters the CAE code if I incorporate with Incorp-Québec?
We prepare your corporation’s initial declaration, CAE code included, from the description of your activity that you give in the form. Describe what your business actually does: livestock, crops, harvesting, forestry services, extraction or drilling.