Register Your .CA or .COM Domain Online

Choose .CA if 70% or more of your customers are in Canada — it provides a strong local SEO boost and signals to customers that you are a verified Canadian entity meeting CIRA's Canadian Presence Requirements. Choose .COM if you have global expansion plans or operate internationally. The OBC recommendation: secure both. Registering both .CA and .COM prevents brand-squatting and ensures competitors cannot use your name under a different extension.

Public WHOIS databases are primary targets for AI-powered scrapers that harvest owner names, home addresses, and phone numbers to build spam profiles, send phishing emails, or attempt identity theft. WHOIS privacy masks your personal data with proxy information, shielding you from unwanted bots while keeping you the legal owner of the domain. OBC includes WHOIS privacy on every domain at no additional cost.

To register a .CA domain, you must meet CIRA's Canadian Presence Requirements. These include being a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, a Canadian corporation, a registered Canadian business name, or holding Canadian trademarks. Non-Canadians who don't meet these requirements should choose .COM instead. We can help you confirm your Canadian Presence Requirement status during registration.

Domain Lock prevents unauthorized transfers of your domain to another registrar. Without it, a bad actor with access to your account could move your domain elsewhere — potentially holding your business hostage or disrupting your website. Domain Lock blocks all transfer requests until you explicitly disable it. OBC includes Domain Lock on every domain at no additional cost.

No. Domain registration gives you the right to use the domain name (e.g., yourbusiness.ca), but does not include email hosting or website hosting. To use email like [email protected], you'll need an email hosting service such as Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or another provider. Your OBC domain can be configured to work with any email hosting service.

Yes. You can transfer .CA and .COM domains from your current registrar to OBC. The transfer process typically takes 5-7 days and requires an authorization code from your existing registrar. We'll guide you through the transfer process. Once transferred, your domain immediately benefits from our included WHOIS privacy, SSL, and domain lock at no additional cost.

If you don't renew before the expiry date, your domain enters a grace period (typically 30-45 days) during which you can still renew. After the grace period, the domain enters a "redemption" phase with higher renewal fees. After redemption, the domain is released and can be registered by anyone — meaning a competitor could potentially register your business's previous domain. We send renewal reminders 60 days before expiry to prevent loss.

OBC believes in transparent renewal pricing — your renewal price is the same as your registration price. Unlike some competitors who advertise low introductory pricing and dramatically increase renewal fees, our pricing stays consistent. WHOIS privacy, SSL, and domain lock remain included at no additional cost on every renewal.

Yes. Domain registration is independent of your corporate filing. Many businesses register their domain alongside their incorporation order to ensure their digital identity matches their legal name from day one. If you're incorporating with OBC, we can register the domain in the same order — no need to wait for incorporation approval before securing your domain.

A .CA domain provides a Canadian geographic signal to search engines, helping your business rank higher in Canadian search results — especially for location-specific queries (e.g., "Toronto plumber" or "Vancouver dentist"). Combined with strong local SEO practices, a .CA domain can significantly boost visibility for Canadian audiences. .COM domains are more globally neutral and may rank well in multiple countries.