Build a Business Worth Passing On
Most Canadian business owners have no formal succession plan. Here’s what’s at stake, and a free resource to help you get started.
You’ve spent years building something meaningful. A business that supports your family, employs your team, and reflects your vision. But here’s the question most founders quietly avoid: what happens if you can’t be there tomorrow? Business succession planning in Canada is one of the most overlooked steps a founder can take and according to PwC Canada, only 34% of Canadian family business leaders have a robust, documented succession plan in place. That means the vast majority of businesses are one unexpected event away from real disruption.
That’s why we put together the 2026 Business Continuity and Succession Pack. A free guide built for Canadian founders who want protection, and a real plan
Why Most Founders Wait Too Long
Without a formal succession plan, your business is exposed in ways that are easy to overlook. A sudden illness or death can freeze decisions and stall daily operations. Losing a co-founder without a buy-sell agreement can force a rushed, undervalued sale. Undocumented ownership intentions are one of the most common sources of family conflict. And a business with no exit structure is genuinely harder to sell.
These aren’t hypotheticals. They’re the conversations we end up having with founders after the fact. We’d rather have them with you now.
The Framework: Protect, Grow, Transfer
The guide is built around three pillars that cover every stage of a business transition.
Protect: What happens operationally if you’re suddenly unavailable? This pillar is about documenting daily processes, identifying who makes decisions in your absence, and keeping relationships with clients and vendors intact.
Grow: Your shareholder structure and ownership agreements should reflect where your business is today, not where it was when you started. This pillar is about alignment, so the business is positioned to scale and attractive when it’s time to transition.
Transfer: How does ownership actually move? Whether it goes to a co-founder, a family member, or an outside buyer, having the right buy-sell agreement, tax strategy, and insurance in place means the transition happens on your terms.
What’s Inside the Free Pack
The guide covers six areas every founder should have sorted out.
- Continuity Basics — What happens if you can’t be there, and how to close those gaps before you need to
- Buy-Sell Agreements — Cross-purchase vs. redemption agreements, and how insurance funds the buyout without hitting your cash flow
- Shareholder Structure Review — A checklist to make sure ownership, voting rights, and responsibilities actually reflect today’s reality
- Tax and Sale Preparation — The Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption, retained earnings, and what “sale-ready” actually means in practice
- A Real Case Study — How a Vancouver tech co-founder built a complete succession plan from scratch
- Your Advisory Team — How your financial advisor, accountant, and lawyer each contribute, and how to get them working together
