Can someone else be a director of my corporation if I want privacy?

Technically, another person can serve as a director of your corporation, but Ontario has progressively reduced the privacy benefit. Ontario corporations are required to maintain a transparency register — a private register of all individuals with significant control (ISC) over the corporation. This applies to corporations with 25% or more voting control or beneficial ownership held by one individual, directly or indirectly.

The transparency register is not currently open to the general public, but it must be made available to law enforcement and certain regulatory authorities on request, and this may expand over time as beneficial ownership transparency measures develop in Canada.

More practically, directors of Ontario corporations bear real legal duties and personal liability — for wages, source deductions, and certain other obligations. A person who acts as a nominee director without any real role in the business may still be exposed to director liability if problems arise, and they may be reluctant to take on that exposure.

If your concern is that your home address appears on the public registry, the better solution is to use your lawyer's or accountant's address as your registered office rather than using a nominee structure. If you have specific privacy concerns, a lawyer can help you explore the options available under current Ontario law.