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Act within your purposes
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Ontario stands fully covered: its own filings and guidance stand in the books beside the federal ones.
A society is formed for the purposes its constitution names, and its money is spent on those purposes.
An Ontario corporation is formed for the purposes its articles name, and its money is spent on those purposes — at the end, what is left goes where the statute directs. Binds: Ontario not-for-profit corporations.
The law’s own words
“If any of the purposes of a corporation are of a commercial nature, the articles must state that the commercial purpose is intended only to advance or support one or more of the non-profit purposes of the corporation.”
Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, s. 8(3) · Read it at Ontario · Verified 2026-11-08
“No part of a corporation’s profits or of its property or accretions to the value of the property may be distributed, directly or indirectly, to a member, a director or an officer of the corporation except in furtherance of its activities or as otherwise permitted by this Act.”
Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, s. 89(1) · Read it at Ontario · Verified 2026-11-08
“if it is a public benefit corporation, it has no property to distribute or it has distributed its remaining property in accordance with its articles, (A) if it is a charitable corporation, to a Canadian body corporate that is a registered charity under the Income Tax Act (Canada) with similar purposes to its own, the Crown in right of Ontario, the Crown in right of Canada, an agent of either of those Crowns or a municipality in Canada”
Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act, s. 167(1)(d) · Read it at Ontario · Verified 2026-11-08
“Before a charity or religious group can get a charitable gaming licence with the AGCO, you must apply for “charitable gaming eligibility” (CGE). This application decides whether you can get a lottery licence.”
Gaming Control Act, 1992 — AGCO, Apply for a raffle lottery licence · Read it at AGCO · Verified 2026-11-08
“To get a raffle licence from your local municipality, you need to: guarantee that total prizes won’t be more than $50,000 … use paper-based tickets. If you can’t guarantee the prize will be less than $50,000, or if you will be using an electronic solution, you must apply with the AGCO.”
Gaming Control Act, 1992 — AGCO, Apply for a raffle lottery licence · Read it at AGCO · Verified 2026-11-08
Gaming Control Act, 1992 (Ontario) — AGCO raffle licensing
“Before a charity or religious group can get a charitable gaming licence with the AGCO, you must apply for “charitable gaming eligibility” (CGE). This application decides whether you can get a lottery licence.” “To get a raffle licence from your local municipality, you need to: guarantee that total prizes won’t be more than $50,000 … use paper-based tickets. If you can’t guarantee the prize will be less than $50,000, or if you will be using an electronic solution, you must apply with the AGCO.”
Source: AGCO, Apply for a raffle lottery licence · Checked 2026-11-10