How we prove it
A firm is on a signal sheet only if we can show four things: the signal is in the public record with its date, the firm is one business, it is open now, and it does the work. Firms we can’t prove are kept off the sheet.
1. Where a signal comes from
Every signal is taken from a public record: federal contract disclosures, provincial tender awards, federal and provincial grant and contribution disclosures, municipal building permits. Each row names the record, the date, and the amount where one is published. We match the record to the firm by name and address and check it is the same business; where we can’t be sure, the row is left off.
2. We prove the firm is open now
Each firm needs one dated record from a source we have tested for that province. The sources we accept:
- A provincial business registry showing the firm Active, in provinces that make firms renew every year: Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, plus federal companies.
- Ontario’s business registry, with an annual return filed in the last 24 months. Ontario doesn’t remove firms that stop filing, so an Active status there proves nothing on its own.
- A valid workers’ compensation certificate or account.
- A Google review in the last 24 months, on a listing whose category matches the trade.
- A public contract or grant won in the last 24 months, where the firm’s name is unique in the province.
- A current licence or membership list whose holders must be operating.
What we don’t accept as proof: a website that still loads, a recently updated website, a Google listing with no recent reviews, an email address that still works, or a bought business list.
When Google marks a firm “permanently closed”, we leave it out unless another source proves it is open. Google’s closed flag is often wrong.
3. We confirm what it does
The firm’s licence, its Google category, its own website or its registry entry has to show the trade. We don’t rely on industry codes from bought lists, directory categories or the words in a firm’s name. Those put plenty of the wrong firms on other sellers’ lists.
4. We fill in the details and date them
Owner names from the provincial registry, founding year, size, revenue range, public contracts and grants, and contact details. Emails are included only if a mailbox check found them deliverable, and the file says when.
5. We check the count against Statistics Canada
Every signal sheet shows our count beside StatCan’s count for the same industry and province, so you can see how complete it is.
See the signal sheets
The first editions are being built now.