How do I register a trademark for my Ontario business and what does it actually protect?

Trademark registration in Canada is federal, done through CIPO (the Canadian Intellectual Property Office) under the Trademarks Act, regardless of where in Ontario your business operates. Registration gives you the exclusive right to use that name, logo, or slogan across Canada in connection with the specific goods or services you register it for, and makes it easier to stop others from using something confusingly similar and to license or sell the mark as an asset later.

Before applying, you or a lawyer typically clear the mark against the existing trademark register and other name databases to check for conflicts, and the application requires identifying the specific goods and services classes it covers, with filing fees charged per class (fees adjust periodically, so verify the current CIPO schedule before budgeting). Without registration, you may still have some protection through common-law use of the mark in your specific market, enforced through the tort of passing off, but that protection is geographically limited and harder to enforce than a registered trademark. Because classification and prior conflicting marks can get technical, most Ontario businesses use a lawyer or trademark agent for the application.