Can an Ontario commercial landlord evict a tenant for late rent without going to court?

In important ways, yes — Ontario commercial landlords have significantly broader self-help remedies than residential landlords, who generally must go through the Landlord and Tenant Board before evicting a tenant. Under the Commercial Tenancies Act, a landlord can, in specific circumstances and subject to the lease's own default and notice provisions, re-enter the premises and terminate the lease for non-payment of rent, and can also use a remedy called distress, seizing goods on the premises to satisfy unpaid rent, without necessarily obtaining a court order first for either step.

That said, these remedies still have to be exercised correctly, following the specific requirements set out in the Act and in the lease itself, including any contractual notice periods before the landlord can act. A landlord that gets the process wrong, or fails to give required notice, can expose itself to a claim from the tenant even though the underlying remedy is available in principle.

Because these self-help remedies are so much stronger than what applies to residential leases, a commercial tenant falling behind on rent should get advice immediately rather than assuming a court process will necessarily happen first.