An ultimate beneficiary is a physical person who has a right to benefit from a portion of the income or assets of a business, or has a right to direct or influence the activities of the business.
In Quebec, an ultimate beneficiary includes a person who meets one of the following conditions:
Owns 25% or more of the voting rights,
Owns 25% or more of the fair market value,
Has an influence that could result in de facto control (also called "control in fact").
In certain situations, an ultimate beneficiary may be a company. Companies that can be considered ultimate beneficiaries are those that are assimilated to physical persons within the meaning of the legal provisions on ultimate beneficiaries.
Note: A company may have several ultimate beneficiaries, all of whom must be declared to the Registraire. It is possible that a physical person (or a company assimilated to a physical person) meets more than one condition to be considered an ultimate beneficiary. In such cases, at least one of the conditions must be declared to the Registrar when filing returns.
This publication is provided for information purposes only. The information contained herein does not constitute a legal interpretation of the provisions of the laws of Quebec. For more information, please consult the Registrar's publication here: