Does naming an alternate executor in a will avoid the need for a bond if the first choice can't act?

Not automatically, no — naming an alternate executor solves the problem of who steps in if the first choice can't or won't act, but it doesn't, on its own, address whether that alternate will need to post a bond. If the alternate executor also happens to live outside Ontario, or outside Canada, the same considerations that can trigger a bond requirement for the original executor generally apply to the alternate stepping into the role.

What actually avoids or reduces a bond requirement is different, more specific language: an express provision in the will stating that no security should be required of the estate trustee, whichever named person ends up serving. That kind of clause carries real weight with the court, but it needs to be drafted intentionally for that purpose — simply naming a backup executor doesn't accomplish the same thing.

Because these are two separate drafting issues that often get conflated, anyone naming an alternate executor who might live elsewhere should talk to their estates lawyer specifically about adding a bond-waiver clause if that's the intended outcome, rather than assuming the alternate executor clause covers it.