What is the Business Number (BN)?
- The BN is assigned by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). The BN identifies a business and associated account(s). Information about the CRA BN programs can be found at http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/bsnss/tpcs/bn-ne/menu-eng.html.
- Two significant Manitoba program areas have adopted the BN, Companies Office and Manitoba Finance’s Taxation Division to identify your business and account(s).
- For example, Company A below has a BN. The same BN identifies its business to the Companies Office, the Taxation Division in Manitoba and the CRA .
Why has Manitoba adopted the BN?
Business started using the BN in 1995 for federal programs such as GST/HST and payroll deductions. Following consultation with business, Manitoba adopted the BN and in 2003 commenced providing the BN to businesses upon registration at Companies Office and Manitoba Finance-Taxation, two significant provincial government programs. Manitoba is continuing to work toward the use of the BN by all program areas that serve business.
Future benefits of adopting the BN
As e-government continues to develop, the BN will enable integrated registration with federal, provincial and as legislation permits, municipal programs. Businesses will be able to register electronically for multi-jurisdictional programs through a single window. As importantly, for those ever-increasing government programs participating with the BN, updates, such as a new address, will only need to be provided once.
How do I get more information?
The One Business, One Number initiative is administered by the Manitoba Business Links program within Companies Office in the Department of Finance.
Manitoba Business Links
Telephone: 204-945-0514
Toll-free: 1-866-205-1657
Email: onenumber@gov.mb.ca
