Incorporations and business name registrations are the responsibility of the provinces as well as of the federal government. While most provinces and territories require a NUANS report for incorporation, the requirements vary, so you’ll need to get the information directly from your own provincial government.
Provincially “Biased” NUANS Reports
All NUANS reports that are required for incorporation include trademarks and federal companies. However, most provincial NUANS reports don’t include other provinces, only their own. For listings of companies with similar names outside your own jurisdiction, there’s something called a “name inquiry” report. This kind of report doesn’t reserve the name, but it would provide additional information that might be important if you’re planning to branch out of your own province.
The “bias” in the report — that is, which geographic area is closest to the top — would be based on the location of the search house you’re using and on how their NUANS account is set up.
NUANS and Quebec
The government of Quebec does not provide any information to the NUANS databases. To search for Quebec company names, you have to go directly to the Quebec enterprise register data bank (in French only).