CFA Franchise System Membership Eligibility:

• Must be offering franchises in Canada or planning to offer franchises in the next 12 months
• Membership must be held by the owner of the brand or by those who have the rights to all of Canada
• Must meet the CFA’s definition of a franchise:The CFA defines a franchise as a business operated by a franchisee under a contractual licence from a franchise,
  1. which is identified by a trade-mark, service mark, trade name, logo, advertising or other commercial symbol that belongs to the franchisor;
  2. in which the franchisor provides or offers significant ongoing assistance to the franchisee or prescribes significant ongoing requirements for the establishment and operation of the franchised business in a uniform manner, such as training, goods and services, methods of operation, location, building design and furnishings, advertising and promotion, business or marketing plans, specifications and quality standards; and
  3. in which the franchisor receives a payment or ongoing payments from the franchisee, usually in the form of franchise fees, royalties, and/or product mark-ups or fees. It is not necessary for a business to use the terms “franchisor” and “franchisee” in its contracts or other material to be considered a franchise. “Franchisor” includes affiliates and associates of the franchisor.

  Source: Approved by CFA Executive Committee – Sept. 28, 2001 / Revised by the CFA Membership Committee August 2017

Step 1: Complete and return the membership application form, together with your current disclosure document. A draft disclosure is suitable for membership purposes. If operating only in provinces without disclosure legislation, please provide a document that meets CFA disclosure document guide requirements.

Step 2: As part of the membership process, the names of all applicants, including business category, location, official contact and signatory on the application are listed in a Proposed New Members Bulletin sent to the full CFA membership.

Step 3: Your application and disclosure documents are reviewed by the membership committee to ensure and that they contain the expected material and that the disclosure documents agree with the information on the application. The Membership Committee are member franchise system representatives. All committee members have signed a confidentiality agreement and any committee member in the same business as an applicant is excused from the meeting and does not see the application form or any submitted material.

Step 4: Based on the full submission of all required information and the completeness of materials, the committee makes a recommendation to the next meeting of the CFA Executive Committee/CFA Board when membership is granted.

Dues levels for franchise system members are based on the total of gross sales for the most recent fiscal year (defined as the total franchise system wide sales in Canada and not just royalty revenues of the franchisor).

Dues Schedule

“The CFA continues to be instrumental in helping Canadian businesses such as ours grow. As members, we undoubtedly owe it an enormous debt of gratitude.”
– George Cohon, McDonald’s Canada

“Being featured in articles and having a platform to advertise my brand has resulted in the sale of several franchises and helped my business grow.”
– Dawn Mucci, Lice Squad.com

“Great team of dedicated people who are committed to helping the industry be what it was designed to be in spite of all the governmental intrusions and regulations. The CFA has our back!”
– Lenka Whitehead, Oxford Learning Centres

“I am so appreciative of the many learning opportunities that have been offered to myself and my peers in the industry and the strong leadership that has kept the CFA relevant and current.”
– Ruthie Burd, The Lunch Lady

“The level of support and recognition that was given to me through the CFA, and the immediate connections and networking opportunities have been invaluable.”
– John Evans, EverLine Coatings and Services

“In the short time that we’ve been members, CFA has proven to be an amazing resource. I’ve already had four leads from LookforaFranchise.ca and two look extremely promising. The best decision I’ve made in quite some time was becoming a member.”
– Steve Collette, 3rd Degree Training

“The CFA is a first-class association that not only listens to its members, but as acts on their behalf while representing for the greater good of franchising.”
– Ken LeBlanc, PropertyGuys.com

“The staff and service is a class act. Being a new franchisor, the service and support you have provided to our start-up have not gone unnoticed. Thanks for everything.”
– Brett Brade, We Buy Ur Ride

“CFA gives us credibility and is good for guidance along the way for both myself and my franchisees.”
– Nicole Hyatt, Tan on the Run